MATE - Museo Mario Testino, Photography museum in Barranco, Peru
MATE - Museo Mario Testino occupies a single-storey adobe mansion built in 1898 by engineer Mateo Pagano in Barranco, restored by architect Augusto de Cossío between 2011 and 2012. Its eight rooms hold Testino's permanent collection, while a newer building at the rear houses the temporary exhibition gallery and Bodega MATE.
The mansion was built in 1898 by the engineer Mateo Pagano as a single-level adobe ranch house typical of Barranco. By 2011 it was dilapidated but structurally intact; restoration under architect Augusto de Cossío took ten months, repairing the adobe walls and interior carpentry and recreating friezes and cornices. MATE, founded by Mario Testino in 2012, opened here, with a gallery and Bodega MATE added behind.
The collection documents Peruvian traditions through portraiture and connects them with contemporary artistic practice. You see photographs that capture people in their everyday and ceremonial contexts, bringing the country's heritage to life through the lens.
The museum occupies a single-level adobe mansion, so all rooms are on one floor; a new gallery and Bodega MATE shop were added in a separate building at the rear. The permanent collection fills eight rooms, and the temporary rooms are Temporal I and MATE Lab. Note that the Spanish Wikipedia article states the museum is no longer open, so confirm before travelling.
The Diana room displays a replica of one of the dresses auctioned at Christie's in 1997, donated by Donatella Versace, alongside furniture made for the 2005 exhibition of Testino's images at Kensington Palace.
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