Machado de Castro National Museum

Art museum in Coimbra, Portugal

Location within Portugal

Established1913LocationCoimbra, PortugalTypeArt museumWebsitewww.museumachadocastro.gov.pt/en-GB/default.aspx

The Machado de Castro National Museum (Portuguese: Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro) is an art museum in Coimbra, Portugal, named after the renowned Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro. It first opened in 1913 and its latest renovation (2004–2012), which included the addition of a new building, was awarded the Piranesi/Prix de Rome Prize 2014.^[1]

Building

The museum is housed in the former Bishop's Palace. This palace was built from the Middle Ages onwards roughly on the site where the Roman forum of Aeminium (Coimbra's Roman name) once stood. The remains of this distant past, the Cryptoporticus, can be visited on the lower floors of the museum.^[2]

Medieval entrance; entrance to the museum
Former Bishop's Palace
Former Bishop's Palace
Access to the museum
New restaurant
Roman Cryptoporticus
Roman Cryptoporticus
Museum interior (new building)
Museum interior (new building)
Museum interior (new building)

Collections

The bulk of the museum's collection is made up of items from churches and religious institutions in the area surrounding Coimbra. The collections of sculpture (the most extensive of all the national museums of Portugal), painting, precious metals, ceramics and textiles are especially noteworthy.^[2]

Archaeology

Portrait of Agripina, 1st Century, 54 x 34 x 34 cm
Portrait of Trajan, 1st-2nd Century, 70 x 32 x 34 cm
Female Portrait, 1st Century, 32 x 32 x 22 cm

Sculpture

Master Pero, Medieval Knight, 14th Century, 72 x 65 x 19,5 cm
Unknown author, Black Christ, 14th Century, wood, 284,5 x 140 x 61 cm
Unknown author, Christ in His Tomb, 14th-15th Century, stone, 64 x 151 x 65 cm
Master of the Royal Tombs, Virgin of the Annunciation, 1500-1525
João de Ruão, Deposition of Christ, 1535-1540, 222 x 225 cm
João de Ruão, St. Bartholomew's Martyrdom, 16th Century
João de Ruão, St. John the Baptist, 16th Century
João de Ruão, St. Agnes, 16th Century, 110 x 46 x 25 cm
Altarpiece of the Nativity, Antwerp, 16th Century, 106,5 x 162 x 29,5 cm
Olivier de Gand, St. Geronimo and Pope St. Gregory, 16th Century

Paintings

Unknown Author, Madonna of the Rose, 15th Century, 209 x 128 cm
Santa Clara triptych, 16th Century, 297 x 342 cm
Sardoal Masters, The assumption of the Virgin, 16th Century, 168 x 135 cm
Quentin Metsys, Triptych of the passion of Christ, c. 1514-17
Quentin Metsys, Triptych of the passion of Christ, c. 1514-17
Cristóvão de Figueiredo, Emperor Heraclius with the Holy Cross, 1522-1530
Garcia Fernandes, Triptych of the Apparition of Christ to the Virgin, 1531, 98,5 x 123,5 cm
Bernardo Manuel, The Lamentation of Christ, 1570-1580, 178 x 160 cm
Josefa de Óbidos, The Virgin Breastfeeding Saint Bernard, 1670
André Gonçalves, Adoration of the Magi, 18th Century

Applied arts

Custódia do Sacramento, 18th Century, 162 x 96 x 99 cm
Piece of jewellery
Venus and Mars surprised by Vulcan, tapestry, 16th Century, 360 x 405 cm
"Kashan" carpet, 16th Century, silk
Altar piece, ceramic tiles, c.1670

References

^ "iranesi Prize / Prix de Rome". www.museumachadocastro.gov.pt (in Portuguese). 2 September 2014. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
^ ^a ^b A.A.V.V. (coord. Adília Alarcão) – Museu Nacional Machado de Castro. Roteiro. Lisboa: Instituto Português de Museus, 2005. ISBN 972-776-269-7