Prehistory and Antiquity
The most ancient testimonies found in the province of Tarragona are the cave paintings of El Perelló and Ulldecona. Drawn eight millennia before us, these sets of paintings had an almost magical religious value for our ancestors. In the site of El Perelló, we can admire a splendid hunting scene, illustrated by a goat and a deer pursued by a hunter with arrows. Also classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the works of thePietat d'UlldeconaHermitage constitute one of the most developed sets of rock art on the peninsula. In eleven Neolithic rock shelters, hundreds of human and animal figures are displayed.
In these areas, there are still many traces of the Roman era. In the past, the Via Augusta crossed the Terres de l'Ebre, leaving remains along this historic route. The best evidence of the Roman colonization is concentrated around Tarraco. Many of the remains revealed by the future Tarragona are exposed in the Museu Arqueológic de Tarragona.
Sacred art
The medieval influence, especially the Romanesque, has marked the landscape for centuries. In religious buildings or in museums, a perfectly preserved religious heritage testifies to the expansion of Christianity.
Built over an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Augustus and an Arab mosque, the Catedral de Tarragona
was erected on the heights of the city in the 12th century. Its architecture combines Romanesque and Gothic influences. Its facade, characterized by its portal, its nine apostles sculpted by the master Bartolomé in 1278, and its Gothic rose window, is today one of the emblems of the city. The interior houses a wealth of works of art. Note the monumental Roman marble in the former baptistery, restored in 1821. There, fourteenth-century wall paintings represent the patron saints, around stained glass windows from the same period. The altarpiece of St. Michael the Archangel, behind the high altar, is the work of Bernat Martorell (1390-1452), a famous Gothic master born in Barcelona. The Flemish influence can be felt in his typical Renaissance work, whether in his illuminations, stained glass windows, or oil paintings, such as the altarpiece of St. John, whose central panels are in the Diocesan Museum of Tarragona. The cloister houses one of the most exceptional sculptural ensembles of the Catalan Romanesque period. These works, with their amazing iconographic richness, were created between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. The famous procession of rats that accompanies the funeral of a cat is one example. Several Gothic chapels open onto the cloister, such as the Corpus Christi chapel (1330), which is worth seeing for its statues and stained glass windows. The Virgin of the Cloister (13th century) is the object of special veneration.Next to the cathedral, the Biblical Museum of Tarragona, in the heart of the Casa dels Concilis (House of Councils), presents a panorama of Judeo-Christian culture. In the room dedicated to the rise of Christianity, an early Christian basilica has even been reconstructed. The religious history continues with reproductions of Byzantine and medieval paintings.
Crossed by the Ebro River, Tortosa is a historical link in the region. At the end of the Middle Ages, Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures coexisted there without any clashes. The city experienced a period of cultural effervescence in the 16th century, which established it as the leading artistic center in Catalonia. This privileged history can be seen in its religious buildings. First of all, the Cathedral of Santa María and the Tortosa Museum, which houses paintings, sculptures and manuscripts dating back to the 12th century.Modern era and Noucentisme
The economic prosperity of the late 19th century was accompanied by a cultural revival. The city of Reus in particular benefited from this impetus. The urban bourgeoisie built a series of buildings and residences in the style of the time: Modernism, related to Art Nouveau. The city now offers a thematic route, marked with plaques. Tortosa also offers its Modernist Route.
Noucentisme was born at the beginning of the 20th century from the growing rejection of Modernism. Through the voice of its theorist Eugeni d'Ors, the Noucentista movement advocated a return to the classical and Mediterranean origins of the arts. The artists Josep Clarà, Josep Obiols, Joaquim Sunyer and Xavier Nogués were its main spokesmen
The beginning of the century also saw the appearance of the first creators who claimed to be avant-garde. Catalan artists, due to the presence of Picasso in Paris, were influenced by Parisian artists. Exchanges were strengthened when certain painters (Braque, Grís, Matisse, etc.) moved to French Catalonia, to Céret and Collioure, where they were later joined by Miró and Dalí
Among the child prodigies of Catalonia, the painter and sculptor Joan Miró (1893-1983) left an indelible mark on his native Barcelona. In 1911, at the age of 18, he discovered provincial life, closer to nature, in the coastal town of Mont-Roig del Camp. The diversity of the landscapes of the region, which was much less populated at the time, nourished the creative genius of the artist, who kept a close relationship with this small village throughout his life. In the 1920s and 1930s, he divided his time between Paris and Mont-Roig, at Mas Miró. From the 1940s on, he spent all his summers there. To understand his work, it is worth visiting the Foundation, which includes a farmhouse, the artist's studio and an educational area. The visit can be completed with the small Miró Center in the town of Mont-Roig. An admirer of Gaudí's modernism and of Catalan primitive art, Miró developed a very personal and poetic style. The use of primary colors and symbolic representations are recurrent elements of his art. Allow yourself a poetic interlude by letting yourself be carried away in Miró's universe where the moon, birds, night and women compose his invitation to dream.
Although Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was not originally from Catalonia, his work is strongly influenced by his exposure to the region. At the age of 17, he went on vacation for a while with a friend in the Terres de l'Ebre, in the small village of Horta Sant Joan, where he found a deep inspiration, under the sign of rurality and nature in general
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) always claimed his attachment to his Catalan roots. More anchored on the Costa Brava, his surrealist style so singular remains linked to the village of Portlligat, near Cadaqués and Figueres.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War put an end to the avant-garde movement and forced many Catalan artists into exile. It was not until the 1950s that the movement was reborn, increasingly tinged with surrealism and non-formalism. Tàpies is the painter who best symbolizes this new expression.
Contemporary art course
A walk in the freshness, change of scenery and art awaits you in the Prince's Gardens
of Tortosa. At the foot of the fortress of San Juan, this open-air sculpture museum by the artist Santiago de Santiago Hernández has been open since 1991. The 24 groups of figurative sculptures are scattered among the endemic and tropical vegetation, a bit in the romantic style.In Tarragona, street art
rhymes with wasteland. The city's alleys are also the site of a giant exhibition. Artistic curiosities occupy all the streets, all the doors and, above all, all the neglected places. Some indications to guide your explorations? In the old part of the city, head for the Plaça dels Sedassos, starting from Carrer Rera Sant Domènec. After a detour to the ruins of the Roman circus, we come across the most photographed fresco in the city: the trompe-l'oeil painted on an entire façade by local artist Carles Arola. His work, which uses traditional techniques such as chiaroscuro, is based on the city's architectural heritage.About fifteen years ago, the Carrer del Comte was abandoned when the municipality decided to install metal posts to delimit a pedestrian zone. Soon, the residents took the initiative to paint them secretly at night. This project has gradually become an annual event and is now an international festival, the Trobada de Sant Agapito Bis, or International Pilons Parade. Every year, on the first Saturday in July, associations and individual artists express themselves on these amazing supports. The parallel streets, Carrer d'en Mediona and Carrer Cavallers, hide a multitude of painted doors and facades, as well as a fresco by another local, Màrius Masip, on the theme of children's games of the past.
Many of the works produced for an urban art festival held in 2011 are concentrated in Plaça de l'Oli.
On Passeig de Sant Antoni,
at the corner of Carrer Portella, a host of small characters climbing the walls are waiting to be captured by your phone!Next to the church of Sant Pere del Serrallo, a fresco illustrates scenes from the life of the neighborhood, all signed by Sánchez Abelló and Ruben Aguilar.
One more? Behind the Plaça Imperial Tàrraco, a mural by the Cachetejack collective of more than 400 square meters marks the Espai Jove Kesse, a space for youth that puts women in the spotlight.
A final stop at the Museu d'Art Modern Tarragona. A collection of local artists, complemented by an archive of photo contest winners since the 1960s. The temporary exhibitions invite you to smell the latest trends in contemporary art in the region.
