Manuel Fontanals (1893–1972) was a Catalonian Spanish-born art director who settled and worked in Mexico during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
He returned to Catalonia and settled in Barcelona, studying at the academy of painter Francesc d'Assís Galí, and working with the sculptor Esteve Monegal Prat and the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
In 1917 he began working in scenography for the "Teatro del Arte" of Gregorio Martínez Sierra in Madrid, where he learned from the masters Sigfrido Burmann and Fernando Mignoni Monticelli.
[2] When he returned, he combined his work with Martínez Sierra, with the scenography at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, distinguished by his fanciful and original decorations.
Through the gatherings at the cafeteria "Hotel Regis" he came into contact with many of the figures of Mexican cinema, who convinced him to stay in Mexico City and work in the film industry.
[2] He founded his own film decoration company, Escenografía de Manuel Fontanals, with which he achieved great prestige, working with the best actors and directors of Mexican cinema: Dolores del Río, María Félix, Mario Moreno Cantinflas, Emilio Fernández, Roberto Gavaldón, Jaime Salvador, Carlos Velo Cobelas, José Díaz Morales, Ramón Pereda and Ramón Peón.