Museo Juan Cabré

The Museo Juan Cabré is a museum centre run by the Government of Aragon. Its collections are organised around three main themes: the figure of Juan Cabré, the Contemporary Art section and the Ethnology section. It was founded as a monographic museum dedicated to the life and work of the archaeologist Juan Cabré Aguiló, born in Calaceite (Calaceite 1882 – Madrid 1947), and has since grown into a cultural reference centre for the contemporary visual arts. Its distinctiveness lies in the combination of traditional and modern elements, with collections made up of very diverse museum holdings that together form a body of great importance as cultural heritage. For this reason, the Museo Juan Cabré forms part of the Aragon Museum System and the Aragon Museum Network. The museum's home is an 18th-century manor house in the old quarter of Calaceite that once belonged to a wealthy local family. The building was constructed as a private residence in 1790 and is a magnificent example of civil architecture of its era. The Juan Cabré collection comprises several types of museum holdings. Firstly, a series of tracings of rock paintings and ceramic decoration designs produced by Cabré himself and by his daughter. Of great importance is the collection of archaeological objects from various sites and periods, the result of the research of this pioneering archaeologist, with a particular emphasis on Iberian culture and, above all, a collection of votive offerings from the sanctuary of Collado de los Jardines in Santa Elena, Jaén. The museum rooms also contain the photographic equipment Cabré used in his fieldwork, as well as a selection of period paintings that bear witness to Cabré's early career as a painter and his relationship with Calaceite and the wider Bajo Aragón region. The Contemporary Art collection consists of a body of works — primarily paintings and graphic works, but also sculpture and ceramics — that provide an interesting overview of contemporary visual arts. These are artworks donated by the artists who, since 1991, have exhibited their work in the temporary exhibition galleries. Finally, the Ethnology collection presents an interesting selection of traditional implements from Calaceite. Highlights include ceramic objects, weights and measures, tools and farming implements, transport elements, harnesses and various household and agricultural items from the region. The museum can be visited year-round, individually or through guided tours.