News
Eduard Carbonell i Esteller has died.
Eduard Carbonell i Esteller (Barcelona, 1946–2025) was a key figure in the historiography of art and museology in Catalonia. Professor at the University of Girona and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, he developed an academic and teaching career of great relevance, while combining research with cultural management. As director of the National Museum of Art of Catalonia (1994–2005), he promoted a decisive stage marked by institutional renewal and the consolidation of the museum as an international reference. He also played a decisive role in the drafting of regulations and the implementation of policies linked to Catalan cultural heritage. Until recent years, Carbonell continued to be a prestigious voice in the academic field, with a contribution that left a profound mark on research, teaching and the preservation of our artistic heritage.
He was one of the key figures in museology in Catalonia, Carbonell carried out his doctoral thesis on The ornamentation of Catalan Romanesque painting (1981), he focused on the study, teaching and dissemination of artistic heritage, in addition to being a great expert in Romanesque art, he also became an indispensable figure in the identity of the MNAC.
Carbonell maintained that museums should be living spaces, in constant dialogue with society, and not merely repositories of works of art. This conviction also led her to her work on the Museums Board of Catalonia, where, as vice-president, she promoted comprehensive management of Catalan museum heritage, emphasizing its social and cultural relevance.
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Eduard Carbonell served as Director General of Cultural Heritage, and in 1994 he assumed the direction of the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, a position he held until 2005. During this period, he consolidated the museum's institutional identity and projected its presence internationally. Among his academic and educational contributions are works such as L'ornamentació a la pintura romànica catalana (1981), Les arts del romànic i Tresors medievals del Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (1997), as well as Reflexiones en torno a los museos, hoy (2005), in addition to his collaboration with the magazine Bonart among others. On September 21, 2020, his career was recognized with the Creu de Sant Jordi, one of the highest honors in Catalan culture.
