El Instituto Gómez-Moreno
History of the Gómez Moreno Institute
This institution was constituted on April 29, 1972 when the Board of Trustees of the Rodriguez-Acosta Foundation and the daughters of Manuel Gomez-Moreno Martinez, Maria Elena, Carmen and Natividad, reached an agreement on the transfer of the legacy. This would be housed in a new building on the grounds of the Foundation’s Carmen, and would consist of a museum, an archive and a library with a primary dedication to research work in the fields of archaeology and art history related to Hispanic cultures.
Aims and objectives
For economic and legal purposes, the Institute would depend on the Foundation, but would be governed by its own statutes and would also have its own Governing Board.
The ultimate goals and specific objectives of the Institute are the:
- Arrangement, registration and cataloguing of the Legacy’s collections.
- Conservation and exhibition of the artistic and archaeological collections owned by the Institute.
- Research in the fields of Archaeology and Art History related to Hispanic cultures.
- Reissue of the out-of-print works of Manuel Gómez-Moreno Martínez, integrating also in this series, among other authors, those of his father, the also researcher Manuel Gómez-Moreno González.
- Development within the Institute of research work under the direction of specialists and previously approved by the Governing Board, in which the funds kept in the museum, archives and library of the Institute may be used.
- Collaboration in exhibitions and research programs in the fields of Art History, Archaeology and History, carried out by other organizations, such as Universities, Museums and Spanish or foreign Foundations.
All these activities are carried out according to plans approved by the Governing Board, as well as any other activity that, in the opinion of the Governing Board, contributes to the fulfillment of the purposes for which the Institute was created.
The building
The Caja General de Ahorros de Granada defrayed the construction costs of the building, donating it generously to the Foundation. It was built between 1978 and 1982 according to a project by the architect José María García de Paredes.
The building is located within the grounds of the Foundation, adjacent to the carmen, with which it communicates through its gardens, although it is an independent nucleus with its own entrance from the outside and the possibility of autonomous operation for the purposes of visits, services and other functions. It can be accessed from Niños del Rollo street or from one of the two main patios of the carmen’s garden -the so-called Patio de Venus-. The uniqueness of the carmen of the Foundation, fully integrated over the years in the landscape of Granada, and its proximity to the Torres Bermejas, suggested an approach in the creation of the new volumes that would not alter the architectural balance of the area. This approach implied, on the one hand, that the dominant volume of the new museum exhibition hall should not exceed the authorized height, being partly hidden by the pre-existing building, and on the other hand, that the new volumes created should not compete in scale with the small architectural modules of the surroundings. In accordance with these basic principles, the elements that make up the program were staggered, making rational use of the steep slopes of the terrain.
The dominant element, corresponding to the main exhibition hall, was placed at the level of the Courtyard of Venus, thus obtaining both a route of maximum interest by the public as a psychological preparation through the gardens and courtyards, as well as hiding its dimensions to a large extent behind the wall crowned with arches that constitutes the back of the courtyard of the pond. A small octagonal chamber, inside which its shape is repeated in a large showcase-lucernarium, houses part of the archaeological collection.
