Portugal's Museums: Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
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Gulbenkian Museum
The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (Calouste Gulbenkian Museum) is Portugal's finest museum and one of the best collections of classical art anywhere in Europe.
The over 6,000 pieces (with around 1,000 on permanent display) housed in a renovated 1960s building were the eclectic collection of Armenian oil magnate and multi-millionaire, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1995). On his death in Lisbon, Gulbenkian bequeathed his vast acquisitions of art to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian).
The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian is set in it's own park, which also includes the Centro de Arte Moderna. All the exhibits are labeled in Portuguese and English.
Exhibits
The permanent exhibition galleries consist of two independent circuits within the overall tour laid out in chronological and geographical order.
The first circuit showcases Oriental and Classical Art including Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian, Eastern Islamic, Armenian and Far Eastern Art.
The second circuit includes European Art with separate sections dedicated to the Art of the Book, Sculpture, Painting and the Decorative Arts, in particular 18th century French art and the jewels and glass work of René Lalique,displayed in its own room. There are European paintings by many of the masters including Rembrandt, Renoir, Ghirlandaio, Rubens, Manet, Monet, Gainsborough and Turner.
Highlights of the collection include the Egyptian collection with an exquisite 2,700 year-old alabaster bowl and a head of the Pharaoh Senusret III, made in obsidian (volcanic glass), fine Roman statues, Persian carpets and Islamic glassware and tiles as well as rare Chinese porcelain along with Japanese wood block prints and lacqerwork.
The museum also holds special, temporary exhibitions throughout the year in two separate galleries.
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Avenida de Berna 45A
1067-001 Lisboa
Tel: 21 782 3000
The nearest Lisbon metro stations are São Sebastião or Praça de Espanha; Alternatively buses: #16, #726, #56, #718 or #742.
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 10am - 5.45pm
Closed on Mondays, and January 1, Easter Sunday, May 1 & December 25
Admission: Adults 4 EUR. There is a 20% reduction with a Lisboa Card
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