Nobility, art and propaganda: the Duke of Alba and cultural heritage in the Spanish Civil War

Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, the 17th duke of Alba played a central role in politics and culture in the Spanish Civil War as an agent and post-war years as ambassador in London in representation of Franco’s government after 1939, and as the owner of one of the most renowned private art collections, directly affected by the course of the war. This article will examine the vicissitudes of collection and the propaganda surrounding it, as well as his role in several episodes of cultural propaganda in London from 1936 until 1945, and also reconsider parts of his efforts within the purview of the decadence of the nobility in the 20th century to examine the role of artistic heritage in the construction of noble identity.