Soares dos Reis National Museum

Porto, Portugal

Soares dos Reis National Museum is the first Portuguese national museum exhibiting collections of Portuguese art, including a collection by Portuguese sculptor António Soares dos Reis, from which the museum derives its name.

The museum was founded in 1833 as Museum Portuense by King Peter IV. Initially it was housed in the Convent of Santo António (in the centre of Porto), exhibiting religious art confiscated from Portuguese convents, and those works of art expropriated from the absolutist followers of Miguel I (who had struggled against Peter IV a year before).

During the 19th century the museum made several acquisitions that were integrated into the main collection.

But, it was in 1911 that the museum obtained its collection of work by Soares dos Reis, a celebrated Portuense sculptor, taking on the name of its benefactor.

In 1942 the museum was transferred from the centre of the city to the former-residence of the Moraes e Castro family, known commonly as the Carrancas (which means scowlers/frowners, a passing reference to the disapproving nature of its members). The large building provided the spaces and conditions to store and exhibit the collections. Over time, the spaces were expanded and modernised under a project by architect Fernando Távora.

Collections

The museum has a vast collection mainly focused on Portuguese art of the 19th and 20th centuries, including painting, sculpture, furniture, metalwork and ceramics.

Artists represented include painters Domingos Sequeira, Vieira Portuense, Augusto Roquemont, Miguel Ângelo Lupi, António Carvalho de Silva Porto, Marques de Oliveira, Henrique Pousão, Aurélia de Souza, Dórdio Gomes, Júlio Resende and sculptors Soares do Reis, Augusto Santo, António Teixeira Lopes, Rodolfo Pinto do Couto and many others.

References:

Comments

Your name


Address

Rua de Dom Manuel II 50, Porto, Portugal
See all sites in Porto

Details

Founded: 1833
Category: Museums in Portugal

More Information

www.museusoaresdosreis.gov.pt
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Dom Luís I Bridge (1,3 km)
Livraria Lello (0,6 km)
Sacred Art and Archaeology Museum (1 km)
Porto Cathedral (1 km)
Historic Centre of Porto (0,9 km)
Clérigos Church (0,7 km)
Church of São Francisco (0,9 km)
Palácio da Bolsa (0,9 km)
Porto City Hall (0,9 km)

User Reviews

Jana Mensink (6 months ago)
A place that history lovers shouldn’t miss out on.
Istvan Szajko (10 months ago)
The Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis was the country’s first public art museum. Founded in 1833 under the aegis of Liberalism, it was created to receive the confiscated property of the dissolved monasteries both in Porto and those of S. Martinho de Tibães and Santa Cruz de Coimbra in its Episcopal See. The expoiliation occurred during the civil war in which the Liberals, led by the regent D. Pedro, Duke of Bragança, opposed the absolutism of D. Miguel.
Luis Guerra (11 months ago)
Not the best time to visit it although it is definitely worth a visit. Lots of room under refurbishment works.
Fw Glover (11 months ago)
A ceramic lover's delight. For those not fond of ceramics then this exhibition may leave something lacking. A disappointing level of context to the pieces did allow for background stories to be created,which caused creative juices to flow. The 18th century furniture was surprisingly sturdy and able to take the weight of a full grown man.
Bilbo Baggins (12 months ago)
Most underwhelming museum ever. Poor and very few exhibits and everything is kinda run down. The review doesn't account for the fact that when we visited a whole floor was closed off. The building that houses the museum is quite nice but the gardens were poorly kept. The museum shop was literally empty. The only merit is that we payed 1,50 entry each. Any amount over 5 euros to see this should be avoided.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania
Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2021 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.