The Réattu Museum, a laboratory serving creation. Located where the cardo (the north/south axis of the Roman city) crosses the Rhone, the museum owes its artistic vocation to Jacques Réattu, an Arlesian painter and winner of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1791, who purchased the building to live and work in. His dream was to host artists in residency in order to allow them to experience the intense landscape. The museum inherited this dream left unfulfilled during Réattu's lifetime along with the totality of his artwork. Encounters with artists have figured prominently in the museum's development. In 1965, it became the first Museum in France to open a photographic collection. In 1971, Picasso made an exceptional donation comprising a series of 57 drawings. In 1981, a commission policy was initiated with Toni Grand inviting sculptors and photographers to create works in resonance with the city's heritage. Architecture - the main thread behind the museum's program - today serves as a key to approach modern and contemporary art. It favors a transversal approach to the collections and connections between art and everyday life. It grants the museum its status as a « laboratory » in which the artist occupies a primordial place.