Robert Capa. ICONS

The Picasso Hall at the Círculo de Bellas Artes will host the largest retrospective on Robert Capa, the photographer who changed the history of photojournalism, from 2 October to 25 January 2026. This exhibition enters into his universe through 250 original pieces (photographs, books, newspapers and objects) that reveal his creative process and the context of his images.

Co-produced by Sold Out and the Fine Arts Circle (CBA), this exhibition, curated by Michel Lefebvre, writer and journalist at Le Monde and specialised in contemporary history, will offer visitors a unique immersion into the photographer’s universe. "The original period photographs, even with their imperfections, are a far more reliable testimony to photojournalistic work. They enable us to understand how Capa observed and worked" according to the curator, Lefebvre.

Coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War, the exhibition brings together more than 250 original pieces, including period photographs developed by Capa himself, historical publications and personal objects from the Golda Darty Collection and the archives of the prestigious Magnum Photos agency.

It reveals how his images were circulated in newspapers and magazines in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. These ‘unique’ photographs, a far cry from the touched up enlargements that are typically on display in other exhibitions, retain the mark of their time and powerfully convey the essence of photojournalism: urgent and direct images with all their testimonial significance.

The exhibition is rounded off with personal belongings, such as one of his famous Leica cameras, his typewriter or his driving license.  These objects offer a glimpse into the photographer’s daily life, who was not only a war reporter but he was also passionate about life, always in search of new adventures.

Although Capa is known particularly for his black and white images, the exhibition also reveals his facet as a pioneer of colour photography. From the late 1930s, he experimented with this technique and increasingly incorporated it into his reports for magazines such as Life or Holiday after the Second World War.

Robert Capa (Budapest, 1913 – Thai-Binh, Indochina, 1954) is considered to be the most famous war photojournalist of all times.  Throughout his career spanning two decades, he covered five decisive conflicts, namely the Spanish Civil War, the Sino-Japanese War, the Second World War, the First Arab-Israeli War, and the Indochina War.

His most iconic photographs include Death of a Soldier, a symbol of the Spanish Civil War; the impressive scenes of the Normandy Landings taken under enemy fire on Omaha Beach; or the portraits of soldiers, civilians and friends that he captured with a combination of bravery and humanity.

Image Credits:

• Death of a loyalist soldier on the Córdoba front, Spain, early September, 1936 © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
• The American troops land on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944 © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
• The American troops land on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944 © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
• Madrid, Spain, November-December 1936 © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
• Spectators at Longchamp Racecourse, Paris, France, circa 1952 © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos