“Retrats de guerra” (War Portraits) is an exhibition of the collection of artist’s copies the Fundació Vila Casas purchased from the heirs of the first Catalan photojournalist, Agustí Centelles (El Grau, Valencia, 1909–Barcelona, 1985), in 2010, which is stored in the Barcelona Photographic Archive. The exhibition covers the early years of the Spanish civil war and is grouped into five sections based on the figures appearing in the photographs: President Companys; politicians; soldiers; revolutionary leaders; and civilians.
The curator of the show, Daniel Giralt-Miracle, highlights the photographer’s journalistic instinct for choosing the exact moment and, when necessary, putting himself in the line of fire, as well as his artistic skill. Part of his highly developed visual sense was drawn from his interest in film. His photographs show certain framing and viewpoints taken from film, as well as an expressionistic use of light and the desire to present a visual narrative in thematically linked series of pictures.