Chiado Museum

Welcome to the Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado, or MNAC. Nestled in the historic and upscale Chiado district, this institution is the beating heart of Portuguese modern and contemporary art. …

Our journey through the galleries begins in 1915 and 1917, the years that saw the birth of the Orpheu generation. This group of artists and poets, including the legendary Fernando Pessoa, sought to revolutionize Portuguese…

As we move further into the 20th century, we encounter the work of Joaquim Rodrigo, a figure who stands as a bridge between art and social reality. Rodrigo was an engineer and silviculturist responsible for the Monsanto Forest…

The 1980s marked a significant shift in the Portuguese art scene, as the country emerged from decades of isolation and moved toward postmodernity. In this gallery, we see the traditional artistic disciplines—painting and…

The museum's collection of contemporary sculpture offers a fascinating exploration of how Portuguese artists have interacted with space and material over the last few decades. Moving beyond the traditional bronze and stone of the…

In the latter sections of the museum, we reach the cutting edge of contemporary practice: photography and digital media. In the digital age, photography has been 'dignified' as a primary artistic medium, no longer just a way to…

While we are at the Chiado Museum, it is impossible to ignore the nearby presence of the Carmo Convent ruins, which share a deep historical and emotional connection with this neighborhood. The convent was destroyed by the 1755…

As we conclude our tour of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, we are left with a sense of the 'living' nature of art. The MNAC is not a static repository of the past, but a space that advances with time. …

Our exploration of the National Museum of Contemporary Art comes to a close. We have traversed over a century of Portuguese creativity, from the bold strokes of the Orpheu generation to the digital landscapes of the 21st century. …