Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
Housing the most comprehensive collection of Brazilian art in the country, the
National Museum of Fine Arts was established in 1937 in the former Brazilian
Academy of Fine Arts building. The architect responsible for the building,
Adolfo Morales de Los Rios, was inspired by the Musée du Louvre in Paris,
and the building echoes the French-inspired architecture that appears all
over Rio de Janeiro. The museum's collection comprises close to 20,000
pieces, including fine, decorative, and popular art. The majority of works are
Brazilian and date from the 17th to the 20th centuries. A small part of the
collection is foreign and predominantly from Europe.
Top 10 Features
1 The Sculpture Gallery
2 Pernambuco Landscapes
3
Café
by Portinari
4
Batalha do Avaí
5 Works by Tarsila do Amaral
6
Portadora de Perfumes
7
Primeira Missa no Brasil
8 European Engravings
9 Rodin's
Meditação
Sem Braço
0 Almeida's
Arrufos
Tarsila do Amaral's
Le
Manteau Rouge
Visit during the week
in the middle of the
day when Rio is at
its hottest and the
gallery is less busy.
!
The Sculpture
Gallery
A corridor lined with statues
looking out from arcades on
to a central space, this
gallery
(center)
houses
works that include classical
reproductions and original
pieces by artists such as
Rodin and Brecheret.
The Teatro Municipal,
across Avenida Rio
Branco in Cinelândia,
has an excellent café
(see p63)
.
• Map X4
• Av Rio Branco 199,
Centro
• (021) 2240 0068
• Open 10am-6pm
Tue-Fri, noon-5pm
Sat, Sun & hols
• Adm US$1.50 (free
on Sun)
• www.mnba.gov.br
@
Pernambuco
#
Café by Portinari
Landscapes
Some of the earliest
Brazilian landscapes were
painted in the 17th century
by expatriate artists in
Dutch-occupied Pernam-
buco. The most famous of
these artists was Franz Post.
Painter Cândido
Portinari - a graduate of
Rio's Escola Nacional de
Belas Artes - is one of
Brazil's most influential
Modernist painters. His
work falls into two
periods:
Café (left)
is an
example of
Social Realism
and draws
inspiration
from Mexican
muralists such
as Diego
Rivera, while
most of his
other work is
Expressionistic.
16
More Modernist and contemporary paintings can be found in the
Museu de Arte Moderna
See p35
.
