Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

The MNAA occupies a seventeenth-century palace above the river in Lapa and holds the national collection of European painting, sculpture and decorative arts to the early nineteenth century. Three things carry it. Bosch's Temptation of St Anthony, a triptych of around 1500, is among his most complete surviving works and the museum's single most visited object. The Painéis de São Vicente, six panels attributed to Nuno Gonçalves in the 1470s, show sixty figures of the Portuguese court and are the great puzzle of Portuguese art history - who is depicted and what the scene means are still argued. And the Namban screens, painted in Japan around 1600, show the arrival of Portuguese ships and traders as Japanese artists saw them, with exaggerated trousers and long noses, from the decades before Japan closed. There is also Cranach, Dürer, Holbein, Piero della Francesca and a large gold and silver collection.

History

The museum's roots lie in the abolition of the religious orders in 1833, which brought monastic art into public hands, and in the Academy of Fine Arts founded in 1836; the painting collection of the late queen Carlota Joaquina was added in 1859. In 1881 the Academy rented the 17th-century Palace of Janelas Verdes, the former Lisbon house of the Counts of Alvor, and the museum was founded there in 1884 to show the royal and Academy collections (Wikipedia, National Museum of Ancient Art).

What's there

• Bosch's triptych - the Temptation of St Anthony, around 1500.
• The São Vicente panels - sixty court figures whose identities are still disputed.
• The Namban screens - Portuguese traders painted in Japan around 1600.
• The decorative arts - gold, silver, furniture and ceramics across the palace.

When to go

The museum has been closed for renovation since 29 September 2025 and no reopening date had been announced a year later, so check before going. When open it is a year-round visit of two to four hours - the collection is larger than most people allow for. Closed Mondays; free on the first Sunday morning of the month.

What to expect

Away from the tourist centre, needing a tram or a long walk. The building is a converted palace, so the circulation is confusing. Labelling is fuller in Portuguese. Some galleries close for rehanging.

Nearby

Lapa and the riverfront are below; the LX Factory and Alcântara are west.

Key facts