National Museum of Ancient Art. The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is the Portuguese national art museum, located in Lisbon.
The MNAA has one of the largest art collections in the world, with over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and prints. It is one of the most visited museums in Portugal.
The MNAA was founded in 1884 to display the collections of the Portuguese Royal Family and the National Academy of Fine Arts. It is housed in the Palácio Alvor-Pombal, a former residence of the 1st Marquis of Pombal which was expanded when it was converted into a museum.
The museum's collection spans more than a millennium of art from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas and includes notable masterpieces by Hieronymus Bosch, Hans Holbein the Elder, Francisco de Zurbarán, Albrecht Dürer, Domingos Sequeira, and Giambattista Tiepolo, among numerous others. The Museum has its roots in the 1833 abolition of religious orders and confiscation of the monasteries in Portugal, which brought a trove of religious art and ornaments into the public sphere.
At the instigation of the liberal politician Passos Manuel, the Academia de Bellas Artes was founded in 1836, and established its headquarters at the former monastery of São Francisco da Cidade. Although primarily dedicated to nurturing new artists, t