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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Closing exhibition: The Virtuous Creator. Joaquim Machado de Castro (1731-1822)

 Inaugurated on May 18th and presenting over one hundred items - sculptures, models, drawings and other important documents, from the museum's own colllection and from public and private ones - the exhibition "The Virtuous Creator. Joaquim Machado de Castro (1731-1822)" will close this September 30.

 Divided in eight sections and occupying the whole ground floor of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon, Portugal), this major retrospective (almost 60 years after the last one dedicated to the artist in 1954) provides the necessary elements to admire the work and learn about one of the most, if not the most, consagrated Portuguese sculptors of all times, Joaquim Machado de Castro.

 Author of mangers, his most known and visible scultpure is the Equestrian Statue of D. José, located in Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon. But during his long life - he died at the age of 91 - Machado de Castro created a renowned portfolio of works, including the Neptune's Fountain in Loreto, Lisbon (Fonte do Neptuno do Chafariz do Loreto), the sculptures of the Basílica da Estrela and Palácio da Ajuda, in Lisbon, the statue of D. Maria I (National Library) and the busts of the Cascata dos Poetas da Quinta do Marquês de Pombal, in Oeiras.

 Particular events led the sculptor to create religious imagery, of which are examples the Santa Ana Ensinando a Virgem a Ler (MNAA), a Virgem da Piedade (Capela Palatina de Salvaterra de Magos), São João Baptista (Igreja Matriz de Almeirim), Nossa Senhora da Encarnação (Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Encarnação, Lisbon). He also sculpted funerary art, such as the tomb of D. Mariana de Áustria, in the former Real Hospício de S. João Nepomuceno and now Museu Arqueológico do Carmo, and the one of D. Mariana Vitória, in the Igreja de S. Francisco de Paula, located in the parish of Prazeres, Lisbon.

 Joaquim Machado de Castro started the first sculpture class in Portugal, with the purpose of training artists to colaborate in his workshop. He also fought for the awareness and appreciation of sculpture in the country.

 Commissioned by Ana Duarte Rodrigues e Anísio Franco, "The Virtuous Creator. Joaquim Machado de Castro (1731-1822)" exhibtion can be visited during the following schedule:

Tuesday - 14h00 - 17h30
Wednesday - Sunday - 10h00 - 17h30

The museum is closed on Monday, Easter Sunday and January 1st, May 1st and December 25th.

Regular admission is €5. Other price plans and discounts are available.

 On September 28th takes place the EPAL Day and the museum will be opened from 10h00 to 24h00 with free admission and on the 29th, the day before the closing, the public will be able to visit the exhibition until 24:00, with free admission after 18:00.

A free multimedia guide is available for smartphones and tablets at http://mnaa.overtour.pt

Map
Latitude: 38.704516
Longitude: -9.162278

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