Portugal's decision to allow the Armenian oil magnate Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian to enter the country in 1942 has certainly paid off handsomely for the cultural life of this small country on the southwestern edge of Europe.
When Gulbenkian died in 1955 he bequeathed his estate to the Portuguese people and left written testimony that his fortune and his immense art collection should be used to equip a cultural foundation bearing his name.
Following the terms of this endowment an extensive cultural center was built in Lisbon with several theater, concert and conference halls, a library and, not least, a museum which has since become world famous. In addition to all this individual grants are awarded and money is given to support cultural, social and scientific projects throughout the country. Thus Portugal is provided with a network of 230 libraries, of which 59 are set up as traveling libraries.
The fact that the Gulbenkian Foundation has almost a monopoly on Portugal's cultural sector has not been without its problems. However, the opportunities gained by the country through this financial support can hardly be overestimated. The building of the foundation occurred during the time of the Salazar dictatorship. The government's fear of criticism from the cultural sector, which led, particularly in the literary sphere, to censorship, persecution and suppression (the then director of the Lisbon branch of the Goethe Institute, Curt Meyer-Clason, wrote about this in his "Portuguese Diaries") meant that at first only a "safe" area, namely music, was promoted.
Thus a separate orchestra, choir and ballet corps developed during the 1960s. Since 1977 a concert featuring contemporary music has taken place each year, with another featuring old music since 1980. In the early 1970s a main focus of the foundation was on the production of Portuguese films with film retrospectives and festivals being mounted. The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian was opened in 1969 on the occasion of the Armenian's 100th anniversary.
This fulfilllled one of Gulbenkian's wishes, that all his approximately 6,000 exhibits from all over the world should be accommodated under one roof - until then they had only been exhibited in parts in the Pombal palace in Oeiras. Since 1984 the Center of Modern Art has belonged to the Gulbenkian Foundation.
Its collection of 20th C. Portuguese art is continually increased and adds to Gulbenkian's own collection, which goes up to Impressionism.
An educational museum was set up in the park belonging to the foundation for further exhibits. Many, often international, exchange exhibitions are brought each year to Portugal by the Gulbenkian Foundation.
The 25,000sq.m/89,700sq.ft complex housing the Gulbenkian Museum was built between 1964 and 1969 according to the plans of the architects Alberto Pessoa, Pedro Cid and Ruy Athouguia. In accordance with Gulbenkian's variety of art interests the collection exhibited encompasses an extraordinarily wide spectrum of artwork from every era.
Tapestries and embroideries of exceptional quality are to be found in the collection.
European art (11th-15th C.): book illustrations from France, Flanders, Italy, Holland, England (12th-15th C.), ivory carvings from France (11th-14th C.). Paintings and sculptures (14th-17th C.): exhibits include works by the German artists Tilman Riemenschneider, with two wooden statuettes, and Stefan Lochner, with the painting "Presentation in the Temple"; the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens ("Flight into Egypt", "Portrait of Hélène Fourment", "Centaurs"), Anton Van Dyck ("Portrait of a Man"), Jan Gossaert ("Virgin and Child") and Thierry Bouts; the Dutchman Rembrandt ("Pallas Athene", "Portrait of an Old Man"), Frans Hals with a portrait and Jacob Ruysdael with landscapes; the Italian artist Domenico Ghirlandaio and Guiliano Bugiardini with portrait paintings. Italian and French art from the Renaissance: wall hangings, wallcoverings, sculptures, garments, medallions.
French decorative art (18th century): paintings and interiors, clocks, porcelain, furniture.
Paintings and sculptures from France (18th century): including Houdon's "Diana"; this figure was owned by Catherine of Russia but was removed as it was considered too obscene: Gulbenkian finally bought it at an auction of the collection of the hermitage. French silverwork (18th century): utensils. Paintings from England (18th and 19th centuries): portraits and landscapes by Thomas Gainsborough, John Hoppner, George Romney, Sir Thomas Lawrence and Joseph Turner. Paintings from Italy (18th century): 19 Venetian views by Francisco Guardi. Paintings and sculpures from France, England and the USA (19th century): landscapes by Charles- François Daubigny, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Stanilas Lepine; still-lifes by Henri Fantin- Latour; paintings by Edouard Manet ("Boy with Cherries", "Soap-bubbles") and by the Impressionists Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir; sculptures by Auguste Rodin, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Antoine-Louis Barye; paintings by the American artists Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent and the English artist Edward Burne-Jones ("Mirror of Venus"). A bronze figure - one of the "Burghers of Calais" by Auguste Rodin - stands in the small inner courtyard, which can be seen from the foyer.
Oriental-Islamic art: Persian and Turkish faience (13th C. to 16th C.), Persian carpets (13th C. to 18th C.). Oriental-Islamic art, Armenian art: Persian book illustrations (16th C.), Turkish carpets, faience, tiles (16/17th C.), Syrian glass lamps (1fourth C.), Armenian book decoration (16th C. to 18th C.). Art from the Far East: Chinese porcelain from the T'sing Dynasty (17th C.) and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Japanese lacquer work, medicine containers (13th/14th C.), pictures and illustrative drawings by the Japanese artist Sugakudo (19th C.).
The park, into which the buildings of the Gulbenkian Foundation are integrated, covers an area of about 7ha/17 acres. A very great variety of native and tropical plants is to be found here, among which little streams and ponds with water lilies have been landscaped.
Above all, however, the park serves as an open air museum for modern sculptures by artists from various countries, such as Henry Moore, Hein Semke, John van Alstine, Irene Vilar and Pierre Szekely. In addition, works by the Portuguese artists António Duarte, Jopao Cutileiro, Vasco Pereira da Conceiçao and Amaral da Cunha are on view.
Address:
Gulbenkian Museum, Av.de Berna, 45 A
1067-001 Lisboa, Lisbon , Portugal
Hours:
June 1 to September 30: 10am-5pm; Wed: 2pm-7:30pm; Sat: 2pm-7:30pm; Closed: Mon
October 1 to May 31: 10am-5pm; Closed: Mon, Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Anniversity of the Revolution - Portugal (April 25), May Day / Labor Day (May 1), National Day - Portugal (June 10), Assumption Day - Christian (August 15), Republic Day - Portugal (October 5), All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1), Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), Independence Day - Portugal (December 1), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Good Friday - Christian, Corpus Christi - Christian
Tips: Admission is free on Sundays.
Last admission half hour before closing.
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Guides: Guided tour available as optional extra.
Facilities: Restaurant or food service
Transit: Subway: Palhava, S. Sebastiao; Bus: 16, 26, 30, 31, 46, 56.
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