Madrid, November 1936. Bombs fall every nightecho of artillery roar in Prado museum wallsField
Just a month after the start of a military uprising, the republican authorities made an unprecedented decision: Close the most important museum in Spain And transfer their content to the lower rooms where the work will be safe from the first air attacks. This was not enough.
On the night of November 16, Howguard got into the building. The threat was real. The artistic heritage of Spain, accumulated over the centuries, was in danger of disappearanceField
And then one of more heroic and unknown cultural affairs Our history: The evacuation of great works of Prudo up to a thousand kilometers.Far from the war, far from fire.
Rambo to Valencia, far from the fire
Two weeks after the explosion, The paintings began their exileThe field of thousands of works – among them are the masterpieces of Velazquez, El Greco, Goya or Rubens – were carefully packed and taken from Madrid in trucks to Valencia, where the government of the republic moved. There was no closed plan, only determination: to preserve art, as it was possible, howeverField
The operation was performed under constant pressure, with a real risk for the involved people. Museum workers, officials, intellectuals, soldiers and loyal citizens participated in the transferThe field and among all of them, which will be considered one of the greatest actions to protect the cultural heritage during the war.
European journey: from chaos to exposition
The route was long and complex: Madrid – Valencia – Barcelona – GinubraThe field with each transmission is new tension. The work passed from some to others, always turning into caution, but under constant threats of attack or robbery. Finally, in 1939, the impossible occurred: Historical exhibition at the Geneva Museum of Arts and HistoryThis showed the world a Treasure Prado.
For thirteen weeks, more than 300,000 visitors turned to the contemplation of the best of Spanish artFrom Las -Meninas to the execution of May 3. But this sample was not just an exhibition. It was a political, cultural and moral statement: The art was supposed to survive, even when everything else collapsed.
Azanya, Negrin and phrase for history
There were also bold political decisions behind this feat. At one of the most intense moments of the conflict, President Manuel Azanya broke Juan Negrin a phrase, which still resonates as a symbol of cultural obligation:
“Prado is more important than the republic and monarchy, because in the future in Spain there may be more republics and monarchies, but these works are irreplaceable.”
For decades, Francoism hid this story. But The memory of this act of love for art restored its placeThanks to files, evidence and recent exhibitions.
The victory of culture against destruction
Today these works are still hanged in the rooms of the Prado Museum, Thanks to those who risk their lives to protect themThe field because when everything fluctuates, even democracy or the form of the state, art remains. And this was understood by the main characters of this salvation: what The preservation of culture was not frivolity during the war, but a way to resist oblivion and horrorField
This quiet epic, woven between trucks, shelters and remote exhibitions, Saved much more than paintings: he saved the important part of the country’s soulField
