More about São Paulo Museum of Art
Works at São Paulo Museum of Art
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Even if you are not the biggest art fanatic or museums simply bore you, you might want to make an exception when it comes to São Paulo.
First of all, the construction of this museum is seriously awesome. Designed by architect Lina Bo Bardi, this building is considered a symbol of modern Brazilian architecture. It is suspended in the air, held up by two lateral beams, and boy does it look cool.
The collection inside is just as impressive as the structure that houses it. The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, often regarded as the finest in the Southern Hemisphere. In an attempt to get sufficient funding from donors to acquire such a vast collection, the museum resorted to some pretty bold methods of persuasion. They held banquets and even public parades through the city every time someone coughed up a substantial sum or renowned piece of art. Very Brazilian of them, no?
On a less celebratory note, in recent years there have been two attempted robberies here. The first one happened in October 2007 when two men overpowered some security guards in an attempt to steal paintings from the second floor. I guess the thieves got cold feet, because they promptly ditched the caper and ran away. Sadly, the museum was not as lucky when it came to the second theft. In the early hours of December 20, 2007, three men invaded the museum and took two paintings. The men grabbed two of the most valuable paintings, one of which was the Portrait of Suzanne Bloch by megastar artist Pablo Picasso. These two paintings alone have been estimated at about $70 million. Luckily, the paintings were recovered and since then the party museum, as we like to think of it, has promised to beef up security.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about São Paulo Museum of Art
The São Paulo Museum of Art (Portuguese: Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or MASP) is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi, whose main body is supported by two lateral beams over a 74 metres (243 ft) freestanding space. It is considered a landmark of the city and a main symbol of modern Brazilian architecture.
The museum was founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand and Pietro Maria Bardi, and is maintained as a non-profit institution. MASP distinguished itself by its involvement in several important initiatives concerning museology and art education in Brazil, as well as for its pioneering role as a cultural center. It was also the first Brazilian museum to display post-World War II art.
The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, considered to be one of the finest in both Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. It also houses an important collection of Brazilian art, prints and drawings, as well as smaller collections of African and Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces. MASP also contains one of the largest art libraries in the country. The entire collection was placed on the Brazilian National Heritage list by Brazil's Institute of History and Art.
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Art is a sort of talent that is a God gifted thing that was polished by many of us and the whole community of people with their own style.