One of my favourite photographers of all time is Robert Capa. He is most famous as a war photographer with his iconic image of the death of a soldier in the Spanish Civil War probably his most known picture. When I heard there was an exhibition of his works in Valencia, I couldn’t wait to go.
The exhibition is located in the Palace of Communications (Palau de les Comunicacions) in the centre of Valencia on the City Hall square. It’s free to visit and believe you me, you will not regret going. All of the information is available in English too, but only for the Capa exhibition. There is a whole collection of Capa’s work in the Spanish Civil War; the UK, Italy, D-Day France and Tunisia in World War II; Israel just after the state’s creation; China during the Sino-Japanese War; and Indochina as it fought for independence from France. Capa was sadly killed when he stepped on a landmine in Vietnam during that conflict. Photographs are not allowed inside this exhibition and it is strictly monitored.
Also on the first floor is a fascinating collection of photos entitled Letras por la Libertad which documents international writers joining together in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. There were some very famous names on display such as the poet from Orihuela, Miguel Hernandez. Capa’s girlfriend, Gerda Taro, is on the poster. She sadly lost her life during the Civil War when she was hit by a tank shell whilst covering the conflict. What makes this particularly interesting is that most of the photographs were taken by Walter Reuter whose name is still synonymous with breaking news and press photography.
The building itself is quite spectacular and frequently houses other exhibitions. Currently completing the trio on display is “DE LA FOSCOR A LA LLUM. Cinc segles d’art” (FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT. Five centuries of art) which was not really quite to our taste but was nonetheless worth having a wander around.
The exhibition is free to enter and the photography sections are on show until 2 July 2023. You can visit from 10am until 8pm every day. If you go, please let me know what you thought.
