History

Museu Casa do Pontal

Estrada do Pontal, 3295
Recreio dos Bandeirantes
Rio de Janeiro, RJ. 22785-580

+55 (21) 2490-3278
+55 (21) 2490-4013
Administration

Rua Álvaro Alvim, 27/sala 113
Centro
Rio de Janeiro, RJ. 20031-010

+55 (21) 2205-3008
+55 (21) 2558-2023

faleconosco@museucasadopontal.com.br
Tour Schedule / Schools and Groups

+55 (21) 2490-3278
+55 (21) 2490-4013

educativo@museucasadopontal.com.br

1946

Young artist Jacques Van de Beuque, after escaping from a Concentration Camp in Germany where he had spent two years, decides to leave Europe for Brazil encouraged by Candido Portinari.

1951

Jacques travels to Recife, in Pernambuco, and meets Mestre Vitalino and the other artists of Caruaru. The former student of fine arts is enchanted with the small clay figures that describe everyday life in rural Pernambuco..

1974

Buys a small farm on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. With the support of his wife, translator and interpreter Edith Barragath, he begins the work of transforming the space, originally thinking to use it only to house his collection.

1976

He creates the largest and most complete exhibit of folk art in Brazil at the Museu de Arte Moderna (Museum of Modern Art) in Rio de Janeiro. The show is a great success with the public, with more than 5,000 visitors on the weekends.

1986

After several years of construction and expansion, Jacques Van de Beuque completes the permanent exhibit at the Casa do Pontal, with a collection of 3,500 works in the permanent collection, and 4,500 pieces in reserve.

1991

Part of the collection is designated a cultural landmark of the city of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil as the result of an initiative of his son, mathematician and philosopher Guy Van de Beuque, who managed the institution from 1995 until his death in 2004.

1995

Consistent with the operating philosophies of the principal international museums, Guy Van de Beuque, Angela Mascelani and other professionals transformed the Casa do Pontal into the Museu Casa do Pontal. Working from a master plan, areas for Restoration and Conservation, Education and Social Programs, Research, Exhibits and Communication are established.

2000

Jacques Van de Beuque dies. During the same year, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, José Saramago, when visiting the museum declares: ”How can a man from a different culture come here and gather together so many vibrant and important works of the culture of the Brazilian people. What he has done here at the Museu Casa do Pontal is incredible.”

2005

The Museu Casa do Pontal is awarded the Order of Cultural Merit, the principal award in Brazil from the Federal Government and the Ministry of Culture given to individuals and institutions for important contributions to culture.

2008

Inauguration of the GVB Art Gallery. The purpose of the new gallery is to provide space for Temporary Exhibits of projects that intrigue the public, offering unique perspectives and new ways of viewing and interacting with the world of Folk Art and its boundaries.

2012

The Museu Casa do Pontal marks 35 years of existence. During that time more than 2 million visitors have come to see its collection through exhibits that regularly organized in Brazil and overseas. Thousands of students visit the museum every year and are exposed to this original and expressive part of the reflection of popular culture.

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Located in Rio de Janeiro, the Museu Casa Do Pontal is considered to be the largest and most important Museum of folk art in Brazil. Its collection – the result of 40 years of research and travel throughout Brazil by French designer Jacques Van de Beuque - contains more than 8,000 sculptures and models created by more than 200 Brazilian artists beginning in the second half of the 20th century. The permanent exhibit at the Museum has representative works from different rural and urban cultures from all over Brazil, on display in 1500 m² of gallery space. Organized thematically, these pieces represent everyday activities, festivals, religion and fantasy in the lives of the people. The Museu Casa do Pontal is situated on a 5,000 m² site in Recreio dos Bandeirantes. The large landscaped gardens were especially designed to promote the perfect integration of the vegetation, the galleries of the museum and the wildlife preserve around the site. According to the members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), associated with UNESCO, “the Museu Casa do Pontal is not just a unique museum of Brazilian Folk Art, it is also a true anthropological Museum, the only one in Brazil that gives a complete view of the life and culture of the people in Brazil.” In the more than 35 years the since its inception, the Museu Casa do Pontal has dedicated itself to the creation of foundations of support to ensure that its collection will be protected and widely used by society. More than 40 exhibitions of parts of the collection have been held in Brazil and in 14 other countries. Since 1996 more than 250,000 persons have visited the museum through its Social and Educational Programs, that involve visits, itinerant shows and the continued training of educators and social and cultural project managers. The Museu Casa do Pontal also offers programs for domestic visitors and foreign tourists, such as accompaniment and musical visits in various languages.