On May 2, 2022, Museu Nacional de Catalunya (MNAC) hosted a conference dedicated to the photographic collection known as the “Iconographic Repertory [of Art] of Spain.” The purpose was to highlight the significance of this gigantic documentary collection, a large portion of which has been held at MNAC since 1970. The creation of the Repertorio (intended to be an ambitious photographic inventory of monuments throughout Spain) took place in the 1910s and marked a milestone, both in Catalonia and in Spain, in the evolution of heritage inventory projects. The Repertorio, which eventually grew to include more than 85,000 entries, was commissioned by the Barcelona Museum Board to the photographer Adolf Mas i Ginestà, although many others would ultimately be involved in taking and compiling the photographs.
In this conference my presentation, titled “Archive as Symptom: Revelation and Concealment in the Iconographic Repertory of Spain,” connected ideas and images by, among others, Aby Warburg, August Sander, Hagop Sandaldjian (and his miniatures at the Museum of Jurassic Technology), Damián Ucieda, and Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin.