Josep Renau
Dublin Core
Title
Josep Renau
Subject
Josep Renau, Spanish artist active in the GDR
Description
Josep Renau Berenguer made one of the GDR's most recognizable public mosaics, but he was born in Valencia, Spain in 1907. From 1919 to 1925, Renau studied at the San Carlos Art Academy in Valencia. He was in charge of the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris and commissioned Pablo Picasso's Guernica for it. Renau was a communist and opposed General Franco. As a result, he was forced to flee Spain in 1939 to avoid a death sentence and ended up in Mexico. In Mexico, he made film posters, photomontages, and murals, including collaborations with David Alfaro Siqueiros.
In 1958, he moved to the GDR. During his time there, he made mural mosaics that can still be seen in Halle (Saale), Erfuhrt, and Halle-Neustadt. Renau’s exile ended in 1976, and he returned to Spain to work. However, when his health started to decline in 1982, he returned to the GDR and died in a hospital in East Berlin.
Creator
Ricardo Martín, photographer
Source
La Pajarera
Date
1981
Rights
Copyright Ricardo Martín
Collection
Citation
Ricardo Martín, photographer, “Josep Renau,” Public Art in East Germany, accessed October 21, 2026, https://charlottedc.net/cms/items/show/56.
Embed
Copy the code below into your web page