The aim of the show is to revive and publicize one of the most thrilling stories of the Spanish Civil War: the protection and evacuation of artistic heritage performed by the Government of the Republic, along with the involvement of the International Committee for the Safeguarding of Spanish Art Treasures, in order to avert their destruction and guarantee their preservation. The exhibition features a creative and innovative design plunging visitors headfirst into the dramatic circumstances surrounding the task and the hazards and difficulties faced by the members of the Artistic Treasures Board and the International Committee.
The exhibition has a narrative structure and explains the vicissitudes and dangers which beset Spain's artistic heritage during the Civil War, along with the protective efforts undertaken by the Government of the Republic. It also records the subsequent involvement of the International Committee, which came at the point of greatest danger as the Republican forces were being pushed back towards France by the advance and aerial bombardment of Franco's forces and his allies. The Prado's landmark works were evacuated, including a total of 525 paintings, 198 drawings and the Treasure of the Dauphin, one of the museum's most spectacular collections, which features the belongings and jewels of Grand Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XIV of France, alongside numerous works from a range of public institutions, churches and private collections.
The exhibition recreates the atmosphere and landscape of wartime, with posters from the era and sandbags (used to protect the museums), as well as background sounds and songs of that period. Life-size reproductions of the most distinctive works saved can be seen within their packaging, including paintings by artists such as Velazquez, Goya, Titian, Rafael, El Bosco, Ribera, Murillo, Rubens… in other words the very cream of the Prado Museum. The boxes are also used as a platform for the presentation of graphical and textual information, including some hundred contemporary photographs along with plans, maps, posters and a range of documentary resources. The finishing touch to the show comes in the form of an interactive installation on the phases of the evacuation, projecting video sequences and digital slideshows which present a selection of the works saved, along with the screening of two extracts from the documentaries Salvemos el Prado, by Alfonso Arteseros and Las cajas españolas, by Alberto Porlan.
