Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
The São Paulo Museum of Art — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, universally known as MASP — is an art museum on Avenida Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil. Founded in 1947 by media magnate Assis Chateaubriand and Italian art historian Pietro Maria Bardi, it is renowned above all for its architecturally radical 1968 headquarters: a concrete and glass box suspended on two massive red pillars above a free civic square, designed by Lina Bo Bardi. MASP holds the most significant collection of Western art in the Southern Hemisphere, with particular strength in European Old Masters, Impressionism, and Brazilian art.
At a glance
- Type
- Art museum
- Period
- Founded 1947; current building inaugurated 1968
- Style
- Brutalist / International Modernism (Lina Bo Bardi, 1968)
- Location
- Avenida Paulista 1578, Bela Vista, São Paulo, Brazil · 23.5614° S, 46.6581° W
Overview
The São Paulo Museum of Art is an art museum in São Paulo, Brazil, well known for the architectural significance of its headquarters — a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi. It is considered a landmark of the city and a symbol of modern Brazilian architecture, and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. The museum’s collection spans seven centuries of Western art and is complemented by a dynamic programme of temporary exhibitions.
History
MASP was founded in 1947 when media magnate Francisco de Assis Chateaubriand commissioned Pietro Maria Bardi — an Italian art critic who had recently emigrated to Brazil — to assemble a world-class collection and establish a museum. Bardi, aided by his wife the architect Lina Bo Bardi, acquired hundreds of major works in Europe in the immediate post-war period, when prices were depressed and collections dispersed. The institution moved to several temporary premises before Lina Bo Bardi’s purpose-built headquarters on Avenida Paulista was inaugurated in 1968, immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece of Brazilian Modernism.
What you see
The building’s signature feature is its main gallery floor suspended between two massive red concrete portal frames, leaving the ground level entirely open as a free civic space that doubles as an outdoor stage for events. Inside, the permanent collection includes works by Raphael, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Turner, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, Picasso, and a strong nucleus of Brazilian masters including Portinari and Tarsila do Amaral. Bo Bardi’s original concept of displaying paintings on transparent crystal easels — allowing visitors to see front and back — has been periodically reinstated as a curatorial statement.
Cultural significance
MASP is the most important encyclopaedic art museum in Latin America and a pillar of São Paulo’s cultural identity. Lina Bo Bardi’s building is internationally recognised as a canonical work of 20th-century architecture, studied for its radical inversion of the traditional museum’s relationship to public space.
Practical information
- Address
- Avenida Paulista 1578, Bela Vista, São Paulo – SP, 01310-200, Brazil
- Hours
- Check official website for current opening times and admission fees
- Website
- masp.org.br
Getting there
Take Metro Line 2 (Green) to Trianon-MASP station; the museum entrance is directly at street level on Avenida Paulista. Numerous bus lines serve Avenida Paulista. By car, metered parking is available on side streets; the museum has no dedicated car park.