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Check inOne of the main centers for the dissemination of visual arts in Chile and the first art museum in Latin America, located inside a beautiful neoclassical palace. The National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) was founded on September 18, 1880 under the name of the National Museum of Paintings and since 1910 it has occupied the Palace of Fine Arts building, located in the Forest Park. The museum has a artistic heritage made up of more than 5000 pieces.
A little history…
The National Museum of Paintings, precursor of the Museum of Fine Arts, has functioned since 1880 in the National Congress. It was not until 1901 that a new building was considered to occupy the vacant lands of the Mapocho canalization and for that, a call for competition was made, which was won by the architect Èmile Jecquier, who would give life in 1910 to the new Museum and the School of Fine Arts. Arts.
This elegant neoclassical palace, which recalls the Petite Palais Paris style, was inaugurated within the celebrations of the centenary of the Republic. It was built in steel-reinforced brick masonry, whose profiles are stripped for the coronation of the main hall in a glass vault that was designed and built in Belgium in 1906. The purpose of having the School of Fine Arts and the Museum in the same building was improve the quality of plastic education in Chile. However, since 1929 the administrative functions of the School were separated and after the fire of 1969, the school was transferred to another building.
December 30, 1976 it was declared a National Monument.
What to see in the Museum of Fine Arts?
The MNBA preserves collections of national and foreign art from Colonial times to the present, totaling more than five thousand pieces. These are displayed through the permanent exhibition that is structured through various themes, for example: Chilean Painting Collection,Chilean Sculpture Collection, Photography Collection,collection of Spanish Painting, collection of African Sculpture, among others.
In addition, the museum has temporary exhibitions of different styles and categories which you can enjoy if you are a lover of art and history. And a library that specializes in Chilean art and press archives.
The museum is a 6-minute walk from the Plaza de Armas stop of our Hop On Hop Off Tourist Bus, you can also get here by getting off at the Bellas Artes station of the Santiago Metro (Line 5).
Web page: National Museum of Fine Arts
Schedules: Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Entry: Free.
Address: José Miguel de la Barra 650, Santiago (Forest Park)
