Museu de Arte Popular was closed for a long time, to the point I no longer believed it would ever open again. But let me put this into context first.
For the Portuguese, talking about the Salazar-headed dictatorship (1933-1974) is tricky. Most people want to forget about it and move on with their lives. Still, the fact is it happened, and we have to acknowledge that it happened, so History doesn’t repeat itself. This museum is from “those days,” so for many years, and for other budget-related reasons too, I assume, reopening it wasn’t a top priority.
When I visited it for the first time, and so far the only one, I was more excited to find out what was in it than about the collection itself. It was going through a sort of soft opening phase.
Because, honestly, how do you sell this place? The chatty ladies at the ticket office are cheerful enough for small talk, but, you know, so are any other chatty ladies at other ticket offices. They were, however, proud and happy that the museum was open again. They, too, lived in “those days.”
It is what it is. It’s worth the visit for the Modernist murals depicting life as it was then in each of the 13 regions of Portugal (to not be confused with districts).
I agree that the building probably has more historical interest than the art inside, with the Padrão dos Descobrimentos nearby. They were part of the 1940 Exposição do Mundo Português (Portuguese World Expo), a propaganda event showcasing the world’s Portuguese dominance.
There’s a mockup in one of the rooms of how the expo grounds looked like that is worth seeing.