In 1991, the architect Jaume Mutlló i Pàmies refurbished the Tarragona Provincial Council Modern Art Museum. The building was made up of a series of rooms that hindered uniformity and access to the museum. The refurbishment integrated these spaces and made them more open, yielding the present layout of the rooms that house the museum’s collections and its different departments and services. One of the most successful of these spaces is the courtyard. The solution to cover it allowed natural light to illuminate the rooms arranged around it.
Far from being a transit area, the architect envisioned the courtyard as a place of reflection and contemplation. The fountain, the sound of the water, the verticality of the shapes and the sculptures it houses, such as the Lemonier Mausoleum by the sculptor Julio Antonio, and the Homage to Julio Antonio by Francesc Anglès, invite visitors to climb to the upper floor to discover a small sample of the works forming the museum’s collection.