The mexican suitcase (I)

Rediscovered Spanish Civil War negatives by Capa, Chim and Taro.

In 1939, in the face of the implacable advence of fascism, Robert Capa left his photographer's studio in Paris and fled to the United States. His collaborator, Tchiki Weiss, saved 3 boxes containing 4.500 negatives of photos taken during the Spanish Civil War by Capa, Chim (David Seymour) and Gerda Taro, the great masters of war photojournalism. This has since became known as The Mexican Suitcase.

Lost for decades, it was found in Mexico and now, thaks of the tenacity of the Internacional Center of Photography (ICP) in recovering it and making its contents public, the MNAC is presenting part of this valuable photographic material for the first time in Spain. These rolls of negatives show us the original sequence of the published photo, reveal to us previously unknown scenes, as well as the masterful technique of the three photographers. An exceptional graphic testimony of life at the front or in the trenches, of the devastation caused by the bombing raids on the civilian population, or of the drama unfolding in the refugee camps, The Mexican Suitcase is a mirror held up to our history.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, 6th october 2011 - 15th january 2012.