Housing the most comprehensive collection of Brazilian art in the country, the National Museum of Fine Arts was established in 1937 in the former Brazilian Academy of Fine Arts building. The architect responsible for the building, Adolfo Morales de Los Rios, was inspired by the Musee de Louvre in Paris, and the building echoes the French-inspired architecture that appears all over Rio de Janeiro. The museum’s collection comprises close to 20,000 pieces, including fine, decorative and popular art. The majority of works are Brazilian and date from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The collection includes paintings and sculptures by Brazilian artists from the 19th to the 21st century, including Coffee by Cândido Portinari and works by Emiliano de Cavalcanti and Tarsila do Amaral. Foreign art is well represented with a series of views of Pernambuco, Brazil, by Frans Post and with examples of European art from the 13th century to the present. The collection also includes coins, decorative arts, furniture, and African art.
