The Conservation of the Architectural Heritage of Pueblo Español Through Travel Drawings in 1927

Abstract

The objective of this research is to show the importance that drawing had in the genesis and creation of the architectural complex of the Pueblo Español in Montjuïc, built for the Universal Exposition of Barcelona in 1929. The painter Xavier Nogués and the architect Ramón Reventós were part of a team that carried out an important research work, with a clear methodology and great enthusiasm. As part of this work, a series of trips through Spain were included, which were carried out between 1927 and 1928, in order to gather information and make decisions regarding the project that would finally be carried out. Nogués and Reventós were in charge of drawing everything they saw in their travel notebooks, among other field instruments. These notebooks, which have remained hidden until today, constitute unpublished material that is analysed in this research to highlight, on the one hand, the importance they had in the final work of the Pueblo Español and in their permanence despite the ephemeral condition of the commission, and, secondly, because it is a valuable material in the recovery of the Spanish architectural-artistic heritage, especially concerning the one that no longer exists today.