The wonderful National Museum of Ancient Art is situated in the historical centre of Lisboa, on the Rua das Janelas Verdes, from where one has an astonishing panorama over the superb Tejo river estuary, housing in the interior some of the most beautiful and important works of art in the Country.

The origins of the Museum date back to 1882 when happened the Portuguese and Spanish Retrospective Exhibition of Ornamental Art, installed in the beautiful Alvor-Pombal Palace dating from the 18th century, known as Janelas Verdes (“Green Windows”) Palace.
The museum was founded in 1884 and was designated as Fine Art and Archaeology National Museum.

Nowadays the Museum collection presents one of the richest collection of the Country and Europe, with the largest collection of Portuguese paintings, mostly from convents and monasteries after the extinguish of the religious orders in 1834.
The collection includes notable national and international paintings from the 12th up until the 19th centuries, sculpture and metalwork from the 12th up to the 18th centuries, drawings from the 15th up to the 18th centuries, Portuguese and foreign ceramics, textiles, tapestries and furniture.

Of the many master pieces present in this fantastic museum, there are highlights such as the “Saint Vincent Panels” which date from before 1470 and are attributed to Nuno Gonçalves, court painter of king D. Afonso the 5th; “The Temptations of Saint Anthony” by Hieronymus Bosch; “Saint Agostinho” by Piero della Francesca; “Salome” by Lucas Cranach; the “Book of Hours” by the king D. Manuel; and important pieces such as the Belém and Bemposta Monstrance’s.

In the National Ancient Art Museum are present works of art of important authors such as Fra Angelico, Guido Reni, Renoir, Degas, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Edouard Manet, Paul Cézanne, El Greco, Paul Signac, Odilon Redon, Camille Pissarro, Toulouse-Lautrec, Claude Monet, Josefa d’Óbidos, Domingos António de Sequeira or Gregório Lopes, among many others.

Surely, one of the most important cultural sites of the Country, not to be missed!