National Museum of Decorative Arts
Encyclopedia
The National Museum of Decorative Arts is an art museum in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina.
Overview
The museum has its origins in a marriage in 1897 between two prominent members of turn-of-the-century Argentine high society: Matías Errazúriz, the son of Chilean emigrés, and Josefina de Alvear, the granddaughter of Independence-era leader Carlos María de AlvearCarlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815....
.
The couple commissioned French architect René Sergent
René Sergent
René Sergent was a noted French architect.-Biography:Sergent was trained at the École spéciale d'architecture, where he concentrated on French architecture of the 18th century but also studied British contemporaries such as Robert Adam, then entered the architectural office of Ernest Sanson where...
in 1911 to design a mansion for Errazúriz's future retirement from the diplomatic corps, in which he had been Ambassador to France for a number of years. The ornate Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
structure inspired the Bosch family to commission a similar palace nearby (today the United States Ambassador's residence). Completed in 1916, the couple devoted the following two years to decorating the palace, purchasing a large volume of antiques and other objets d'art.
When Mrs. Errazúriz died in 1935, however, the widower bequeathed the mansion to the Argentine government, on his son's and daughter's advice. The National Museum of Decorative Arts was established in 1937.
Little changed since, the museum maintains twelve exhibit halls and nine permanent collections of over 4,000 objects in all, including:
- paintingPaintingPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s: notable among them El GrecoEl GrecoEl Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
's Jesus Bearing the Cross Uphill, Jean Honoré Fragonard's The Sacrifice of the Rose and Edouard ManetÉdouard ManetÉdouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
's Portrait of Abbé Hurel - sculptureSculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
: among them an Ancient RomanAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
MinervaMinervaMinerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
, Cristoforo MantegazzaCristoforo MantegazzaCristoforo Mantegazza was an Italian sculptor who was active from 1464.He was born in Pavia. Among his other works, he collaborated with his brother Antonio on the façade of the Certosa of Pavia , one of the masterworks of northern Italy's Renaissance...
's Adoration of the Magii (a wall relief in marble) and Auguste RodinAuguste RodinFrançois-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
's The Eternal Spring - East Asian art: numerous Chinese vases and jadeJadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
sculptures from the Chien Lung era, among others; as well as tapestriesTapestryTapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
, porcelainPorcelainPorcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
s, 18th century furniture, the most important public miniature artMiniature ArtMiniature art is a genre that focuses on art in much-smaller-than-usual sizes. Miniature art societies, such as the World Federation of Miniaturists , provide applicable definitions of the term....
collection in the Americas and other antiques, generally from before 1800.
The collection is also complemented by temporary exhibits, and the museum hosts regular choral concerts, as well as classes and seminars. Visitors can also enjoy Café Croque Madame, whose tables are set in the gardens in good weather. The Argentine Academy of Letters
Argentine Academy of Letters
The Academia Argentina de Letras is the academy in charge of studying and prescribing the use of the Spanish language in Argentina. Since its establishment, on August 13, 1931, it has maintained ties with the Royal Spanish Academy and the other Spanish-language academies that are members to the...
has, since 1944, also been housed here.