São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP)
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
One of the most important Western art collections in the Southern Hemisphere. The glass box suspended from red beams is a modernist architectural masterpiece.
MASP was designed by Italian-born architect Lina Bo Bardi and opened in 1968. The entire museum building is suspended by two red concrete beams, leaving an open 74-metre column-free public plaza below. A antiques market is held there on Sundays. The collection of about 10,000 works covers European masters such as Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Cézanne and Modigliani, as well as Brazilian modern art. The most distinctive feature is the permanent collection on the second floor, which uses Bo Bardi's original 'glass easels.' Paintings are fixed to transparent glass panels and arranged like a forest in the open hall, with labels on the back. Visitors can walk freely among them. A new annex built in 2024 expanded the space for temporary exhibitions.
The museum is closed on Mondays. Entry costs several dozen reais, and admission is usually free on Tuesdays (advance online booking required). It is right at the exit of Trianon-MASP metro station, and Trianon Park is across the street.
Opening hours
Tue 10:00–20:00; Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00; closed Mondays (check the official website)
Nearby sights
- Avenida Paulista
- Japan House São Paulo
- Museu do Futebol
- Rua Oscar Freire & Jardins
- Edifício Copan
- Monument to the Bandeiras
- Edifício Italia
- Museu Afro Brasil