Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes is a free museum located near the cemetery in Recoleta. We were told by a friend that it is worth the trip over, so we decided to check it out yesterday. Unfortunately, yesterday ended up being a terrible day for the journey because it rained and rained, but after much deliberation and a yummy coffee from the local cafe, we decided to go for it.

The main gallery of the museum was comprised of traditional 17 and 18th century paintings. There were a couple noteworthy artists, but not many noteworthy pieces. By the time we finished the main floor we were pretty disappointed and dreading the trip back home in the rain. We decided to check out the second floor, which contained works from Argentine artists. It was like night and day! There were quite a few modern pieces, as well as some older pieces depicting Argentine cultural and social issues. Some pieces were so uncomfortable and moving that they were hard to look at. I was extremely impressed.

Unbeknownst to us, there was also a 3rd floor gallery, with a small but relatively impressive photography exhibit. The carpets were moldy and dirty and the mildew smell and moisture in the air must not be good for the photography, but the walk through was worth the discomfort. One interesting piece was a photograph of a yearbook shot taken of a Buenos Aires elementary school class (date unknown, but possibly from the 1950s or 60s), on which the artist had written details of what she knew about each classmate, all these years later. Additionally, there were some shots of the Argentine countryside and village culture. But, above all else, one large scale colored photograph caught my attention the most. It was a stark but soft photograph of a women, obviously posed for the camera. The colors, deep reds and green contrasted by the paleness of her skin and the filmy whiteness of her top, created a shockingly beautiful image. I wish I could have captured a photo to pass on but unfortunately cameras were absolutely forbidden and security was extremely present.

We spent a few moments gazing at her beauty and then headed back out into the elements where the heavens proceeded to dump buckets of water on us.

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes - Check!