With a history spanning nearly two centuries, the Soares dos Reis National Museum (MNSR) – Portugal's first public art museum – has been repositioning itself, presenting a renewed perspective on its collections.
The current Long-Term Exhibition, opening in 2023, brings together the most important collection of 19th-century Portuguese art. In total, approximately 1,140 pieces tell the history of the museum and art, spread across 27 rooms. The total collection comprises more than 18,000 cultural assets, from various collections: paintings, sculptures, prints, decorative arts (furniture, ceramics, glass, goldsmithing, jewelry, textiles), and archaeological collections. Among the various artists represented are painters and sculptors who have worked closely with the region and its institutions, notably the Porto Academy of Fine Arts, including Vieira Portuense, Henrique Pousão, Aurélia de Souza, Soares dos Reis, Teixeira Lopes, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Abel Salazar, Júlio Resende, Ângelo de Sousa, and Nadir Afonso.
Aware of the demands of an increasingly proactive and knowledgeable society, the Soares dos Reis National Museum seeks to provide opportunities for new interpretations and new narratives, always valuing the cultural heritage it encompasses and honoring the history it inherits.
The MNSR thus establishes itself as a leading cultural and artistic institution, home to an internationally renowned collection, open to the participation and inclusion of all members of society. A champion of Cultural Democracy, the institution aims to continue asserting itself as a place for constructing meanings from its collections, a place of belonging and identity, fostering reflection, creativity, and contemporary critical thinking.
It develops ongoing work that serves as a benchmark for other institutions in the areas of research, conservation, and restoration, within the context of managing and monitoring various collections, continuing education, and internship guidance, carried out in collaboration with universities. The MNSR seeks to develop its role as a place of education through a program aligned with sectoral public policies regarding the family, youth, support for people with disabilities, formal education institutions, tourism, and combating social exclusion.
It regularly presents several temporary exhibitions that allow for greater scientific knowledge of the collections and related artists. This offering also strengthens connections with partners and visitors. Territorial action is a core part of the MNSR's programming, enabling it, within the scope of its mission and social responsibility, to contribute to the local development of the territory in which it operates and the neighboring community with which it interacts actively and collaboratively.
Similarly, the MNSR has been consolidating its internationalization strategy, establishing various contacts with museums in Spain and France to develop partnerships aimed at the circulation of cultural assets and exhibitions between museum institutions.
Pousão Gallery
The Museum's Foundation
The MNSR has its origins in the Museum of Paintings, Prints and Other Fine Arts, created by Dom Pedro IV of Portugal, the first Emperor of Brazil. Known as the Museu Portuense, it was initially housed in the now-defunct Convent of Santo António da Cidade, in Praça de S. Lázaro. It was during the civil war between liberals and absolutists (1832-34) that D. Pedro sent the painter João Batista Ribeiro to collect works of art from the supporters of his adversary D. Miguel and from the abandoned convents of Porto.
The initial core of the Museum's collection thus consists primarily of paintings and engravings removed in 1833 from abandoned monasteries, hospices, and convents in Porto. With the promulgation of the decree abolishing religious orders in 1834, the artistic assets of the monasteries of S. Martinho de Tibães and Santa Cruz de Coimbra were integrated into the Museum.
The founding of the Museu Portuense was formalized in 1836 by decree of Queen Maria II, followed by the creation of the Academia Portuense de Belas Artes (Portuense Academy of Fine Arts) as part of a series of public education reforms. This artistic education began in the Drawing Classroom of the Royal Academy of Navy and Commerce, directed by Vieira Portuense.
In 1839, the Museum came under the direction of the Academy and remained so until the proclamation of the Republic in 1910.
The Museum's Patron - Soares dos Reis
In the context of the 1911 Republic reforms, museums were considered important means of social intervention, aimed at educating citizens' aesthetic sense. This led to the founding of major museums in Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto.
The Museu Portuense was renamed the Museu Soares dos Reis in honor of one of the most prominent figures in Portuguese art – the sculptor António Soares dos Reis. In 1932, the museum was elevated to the status of National Museum, becoming independent from the Porto School of Fine Arts.
The Museum Meets Modernism
Between 1950 and 1960, under the direction of sculptor and professor Salvador Barata Feyo, the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis invested in updating its painting and sculpture collections. It prioritized the acquisition of works by contemporary artists, most of whom had trained at the Porto School of Fine Arts. More than 150 works of art were acquired through the João Chagas Fund (created by Maria Teresa Chagas, widow of this politician, diplomat, and journalist). Thanks to this initiative, the collection now includes nearly all of the most prominent artists of Portuguese Modernism.
The Contemporary Art Center (CAC)
Until the mid-1970s, the city of Porto, distanced from the official culture of the dictatorship, developed a certain autonomy. The emergence of independent and alternative spaces with innovative programming contributed to a fertile artistic dynamic.
After the establishment of democracy, the Contemporary Art Center (CAC) emerged in 1975 under the direction of professor and art critic Fernando Pernes. Associated with the Museum and housed within its walls, it inaugurated a program of exhibitions and events with sometimes controversial themes, such as eroticism in art and torture.
Alongside its Fine Arts collections, the Museum houses a vast and extensive Decorative Arts collection. In the 1930s, under the direction of Vasco Valente, the MNSR transferred its collections and those of the defunct Porto Municipal Museum to the Palácio dos Carrancas, which had since been adapted for its new museum functions of conservation and exhibition.
The building had been the residence and factory of the Morais e Castro family and, in 1862, was acquired by the royal family, serving as the Royal Palace of Porto until 1910.
Chosen as Museum of the Year 2024 by the Portuguese Museology Association, this distinction greatly honors the institution, rewarding the dedication and commitment of all the professionals who daily contribute to elevating and sustaining the MNSR's reputation, which has become increasingly strengthened and confirmed. This recognition has been fundamentally supported by the collaboration of its various patrons and the Dr. José de Figueiredo Circle – Friends of the Soares dos Reis National Museum.
As a peer-to-peer award, the Museum of the Year Award takes on even greater significance and relevance, reflecting recognition for the work that has been carried out over the past few years, especially after the full reopening of the MNSR.
By embracing new partnerships, which greatly contribute to strengthening its mission, the Soares dos Reis National Museum positions itself as a Museum of People, by People, for People.