National Museum Soares dos Reis, National art museum in Miragaia, Porto, Portugal
The National Museum Soares dos Reis is housed in the Carrancas Palace and displays Portuguese paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects from the 1800s and 1900s. The building features spacious galleries across multiple floors where works are organized by style and period.
Founded in 1833 as the Museum Portuense by King Peter IV, it first occupied the Convent of Santo António and displayed religious art confiscated from convents and works taken from followers of Miguel I. In 1911 it was renamed after sculptor Soares dos Reis, and in 1942 it moved to the Carrancas Palace, later expanded under architect Fernando Távora.
The museum's name honours António Soares dos Reis, the Porto sculptor whose marble O Desterrado is its best-known piece; his collection entered in 1911. In the 1940s the museum absorbed the collections of the city's municipal museum, adding decorative arts to the fine arts. Painters such as Silva Porto, Henrique Pousão and Aurélia de Souza represent Portuguese naturalism.
The palace is located in central Porto and is easily reachable on foot, with stairs and elevators connecting the different floors. The visit flows well if you allow time for each floor and wear comfortable shoes.
The palace's nickname, Carrancas, means "scowlers" or "frowners", a popular jab at the disapproving faces of the Moraes e Castro family who had it built. The museum moved here in 1942, when engineer Fernandes de Sá converted the old factory workshops into a skylit painting gallery.
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