National Museum of Ancient Art, Art museum in Santos-o-Velho district, Lisbon, Portugal
The National Museum of Ancient Art occupies a 17th-century palace and holds approximately 40,000 objects including paintings, sculptures, goldware, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and prints. The collection spans different periods and regions, documenting the history of artistic production across several centuries.
The museum was founded in 1884 after Portugal dissolved religious orders in 1833, making artworks from religious institutions and noble estates available for public collection. This period of change enabled the assembly of an important art collection of national interest.
The collection displays works by European painters such as Memling, Bosch, and Dürer that were kept in Portuguese monasteries and noble households for centuries. These paintings reflect the connections that this country maintained with other European art centers.
The museum has varying opening hours: Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday through Sunday from morning until evening, with closures on Mondays. Guided tours range from one to four hours and help visitors explore the collection according to their interests.
The famous Saint Vincent Panels, created around 1470 by court painter Nuno Gonçalves, show figures from medieval Portuguese society gathered around the saint. These works rank among the oldest examples of Portuguese panel painting and document the religious and social structures of that era.
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