Josep Renau (1907–1982) was a Spanish artist, graphic designer, photomontage pioneer and political activist who served as Director Basic of Wonderful Arts through the Spanish Civil Warfare, commissioning Picasso’s Guernica and rescuing Prado masterpieces from bombings.
Exiled to Mexico and later East Germany, he created satirical sequence like The American Method of Life, indicting Chilly Warfare consumerism by means of vibrant, Dada‑impressed reduce‑outs, daring layouts and structural critiques of fascism, capitalism and battle. His posters—from Nineteen Twenties Valencia adverts (Harina Malteada SOS, Gran Feria) to Civil Warfare propaganda (“Campesino defiende…”) and Mexican movie works (Abismos de Pasión, Raíces)—mix industrial vibrancy with revolutionary urgency, now housed in main collections.
