The National Library of Spain (BNE) has published the list of Spanish authors whose works are in this institution and have entered the public domain in 2023, as the BNE list includes the artists who died in 1942.
Of the 177 authors in the library, among whom are writers, journalists, artists and musicians from all over the country, Miguel Hernández (Orihuela, 1910 – Alicante, 1942) especially stands out this year.
Miguel Hernández was a poet and playwright of special relevance in 20th century Spanish literature. Passionate about reading, at the age of 20 he published Perito en Lunas (1933).
His famous Nanas de la cebolla (1939), which the author of the Generation of ’36 dedicated to his second son, closes the Songbook and ballads of absences, the author’s last collection of poems, written in prison, on pieces of toilet paper, and published after his death in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Other notable works entering the public domain include those of Federico Urales (Reus, 1864- France 1942). Politician and Spanish teacher, he founded La Revista Blanca, thanks to which he was in contact with renowned intellectuals such as Leopoldo Alas Clarin, Jacinto Benavente and Unamuno. In 1939 he went into exile in France, where he died in 1942.
Julio González (Barcelona, 1876- Paris, 1942). Spanish sculptor and painter. One of the most important artists of the 20th century, during his studies in Paris he met Pablo Picasso.
Leonor Serrano (Hinojosa de Calatrava, 1890 – Madrid, 1942). She was an education inspector and promoter of the Montessori method, a lawyer and a feminist. During the Civil War she fled to France and when she returned, she was prohibited from teaching.
Ferran Valls i Taberner (Barcelona, 1888- Barcelona, 1942). Spanish lawyer, politician and historian. He is a provincial deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia and a deputy in the Republican Courts and director of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon.
Marqués de la Vega-Inclán (Valladolid, 1858- Madrid, 1942) interested in tourism and a great traveller, was a precursor of the Royal Tourism Commissioner (Paradores), and controversial patron of the museums of El Greco in Toledo and Madrid’s Romanticism.
Luisa Casagemas Coll (Barcelona, 1873- Madrid, 1942) Catalan violinist and composer, one of the first opera authors in Spain, sister of Carlos Casagemas, painter friend of Picasso
Lola Cabello (Málaga, 1905- Castellón de la Plana, 1942) Málaga-born singer, made her debut in Barcelona in 1920, performed in theatres and cinemas and was hired by Radio Barcelona, moved to Madrid and toured Spain performing with other artists of different genres.
