Arxiu Fotogràfic de Barcelona
About the institution
The Barcelona Photographic Archive was established in 1931 as part of the Historical Archive of the City and is now one of the centres pertaining to Barcelona City Council's Municipal Archive System. It contains more than two and a half million photographs dating from 1839 to the present day, and focuses mainly on the city of Barcelona.
It is the photographic Archive's historical development that makes its collection so unique and so rich. The Archive has enlarged its collection through traditional methods, such as the transfer of archives from other municipal branches, its own photographic production, the occasional commissioning of photographers, donations from citizens and through purchase. Professional and amateur photographers, publishing companies, leading figures in Barcelona society, institutions, families, individuals and Barcelona City Council itself have all contributed, over the years, to the Archive's growth and expansion.
The collection includes examples of many photographic techniques from daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and ferrotypes to developed plastic film, autochrome Lumière and albumen paper.
The main focus of attention is the city of Barcelona itself, within which there are large sections devoted to such events as the Universal Exposition of 1888, the remodelling of the Via Laietana in 1909, the International Exposition of 1929 and the 1992 Olympic Games. The collection also includes photographs of great value in fields such as photojournalism, portrait photography, amateur photography as well as family archives.
The collection contains a wide selection of photographs by very well-known photographers, with links to the city from the dawn of photography to the present day such as Napoleon, Antoni Esplugas, Pau Audouard, Joan Martí, Frederic Ballell, Josep Postius, Josep Badosa i Montmany, the Pérez de Rozas family, Colita, and many others.
The work of the Barcelona Photographic Archive consists of creating a space that is open to all in order to raise awareness about and disseminate its photographic archive. It aims to contribute to research into the history of the city, the history of photography, and encourage collaboration between the various public and private bodies, the better to design photographic projects that deepen people's awareness of, and knowledge about, photography.
One of the main ways of achieving this is through the temporary exhibitions which the Barcelona Photographic Archive organises from its collection.
Notable amongst the collection are photographs from the Pérez de Rozas and Napoleon families; the López and Alberto Martí publishing companies; the Diario de Barcelona newspaper; Frederic Ballell; Josep Postius; Jacques Léonard; Amadeo; Francesc Serra; the Barcelona City Council collection; the International Exposition of 1929 and the collections comprising direct positive images from camera, postcards, albums, stereoscopes and printed photographs.
