War albums, the paradigm of war art

War albums are a paradigmatic expression of art during the Spanish Civil War. They bring together the essential characteristics of wartime art: the depiction of the devastation and the key figures of the conflict, the commitment to realism, and the social function of art – as both testimony and as propaganda.

These albums were notebooks or portfolios of prints published for commercial and propaganda purposes. Sometimes they were aimed at the international community and therefore produced in various languages. The Ministry of Public Instruction, the Ministry of Propaganda or War, the different propaganda sections of regional governments and political groups, as well as certain independent publishing houses, were among the producers.

The essential element of the albums were the artistic compositions, which were often accompanied by brief texts written by renowned intellectuals. The words served to complement the images, not the other way around, offering biographical notes about the artists, explanations regarding the purpose of the publication, or political nuances. The original works were usually drawings, watercolors, or prints (though some included photographs) that were reproduced in series using photomechanical processes, primarily rotogravure. Some were conceived from the outset as part of a unified collection, as in the case of the famous Madrid. Album in Homage of the Glorious Capital of Spain, while others were earlier works compiled for later publication, such as Ramón Puyol’s 32 Civil War Drawings, which brought together illustrations originally published in the press.

The boom experienced by this format is evident in the more than thirty titles published during the years of the conflict. These include collective albums, such as Illustrators in the Spanish War, as well as ones by individuals, which were more numerous. The serialized distribution of the albums made these illustrated publications accessible to the popular classes, which was a clear sign of the cultural democratization advocated by several progressive-minded intellectuals.

Except for a few photographic ones, all the war albums were produced in democratic Spain. Although some graphic notebook projects were also initiated on the rebel side, there is no evidence that they were ever completed. After the war, new titles continued to appear from exile, maintaining the same characteristics as the Republican war albums.

IEG