Museu Soares dos Reis

Founded in 1833 as the Museu Portuense, this was the first public art museum in Portugal, created from works seized from religious houses and from supporters of the losing side in the civil war. It moved in 1942 into the Palácio dos Carrancas, a late eighteenth-century merchant family's house that had been used as headquarters by Marshal Soult during the French occupation of Porto in 1809 and then, after the French were driven out, by Wellington - who is said to have eaten the dinner prepared for Soult. The collection covers Portuguese painting from the fifteenth century, decorative arts, ceramics and glass, but its centre is sculpture by António Soares dos Reis, the Porto sculptor whose O Desterrado, The Exile, of 1872 is among the best-known Portuguese sculptures - a seated figure whose face carries the untranslatable saudade the country claims as its own.

History

King Peter IV founded the museum in 1833 as the Museu Portuense, first housed in the Convent of Santo António with religious art from the convents. In 1850 it acquired the private museum of the port wine exporter John Francis Allen, in 1911 it received the work of the sculptor Soares dos Reis and took his name, and in 1942 it moved to the Palácio dos Carrancas, later enlarged by the architect Fernando Távora (Wikipedia, Soares dos Reis National Museum).

Highlights

• O Desterrado - Soares dos Reis's 1872 seated figure, the museum's central work.
• The 1833 foundation - Portugal's first public art museum, built from seized collections.
• The palace - the house used successively by Soult and Wellington in 1809.
• The Portuguese painting - a survey from the fifteenth century onward.

When to go

Year-round. Two hours. Closed Mondays. Free on Sunday mornings. The Crystal Palace gardens next door make a natural pairing.

What to expect

The building's conversion makes for confusing circulation. Some galleries close for rehanging. Labelling is fuller in Portuguese. It is quieter and less flashy than Porto's contemporary museums, which suits some visitors and not others.

Nearby

The Crystal Palace gardens are next door; Clérigos and the Cordoaria are east.

Key facts