Museum of Art of Lima

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Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) – Museum of Art of Lima

Location: Paseo Colon No. 125, Lima

Open: Tuesday to Sunday 9:00am to 5:00pm

Admission: S/6, Wednesdays free, Sunday S/3.

Telephone number: 423-4732

Web site: Museo de Arte de Lima

The Museum of Art of Lima opened its door to the public on March 10^th, 1961 on the Palacio de la Exposicion or Palace of the Exhibition. The palace was built in 1871 during the government of President Jose Balta as the grounds of the first public Expo of Peruvian Arts, Science and Industry to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Independence of Peru. The building represents the eclectic architecture that characterizes the city of Lima and was designed by Italian architect Antonio Leonardi and Gustave Eiffel. The building is considered an historic monument and in 1972 it was declared Cultural Patrimony of the Nation.

The museum has over 12,000 pieces as part of its permanent collection, some of the older pieces date back more than 3000 years. Its collection includes exhibits from pre-Columbian art and ancient Peru inhabitants to contemporary art. Especially interesting is the collection of colonial art which includes the transitional period and an exhibition of the evolution of Keros. The Italian rococo influence in local artist and the development of the Escuela Cusqueña from 1650 are also included in its Colonial exhibition.

The museum’s 19^th century collection includes artists such as Jose Gil de Castro, Ignacio Merino, Francisco Laso, Luis Montero among others, and emigrant Peruvian painters established in Europe like Federico del Campo, Abelardo Alvarez-Calderon and Herminio Arias de Solis.

Twentieth Century art is represented by Macedonio de la Torre, Carlos Quizpes Asin and Servulo Gutierrez, all of them developed their art in Europe influenced by cubism, expressionism and abstraccion. Many local artists such as Jorge Eielson, Eduardo Moll, Benjamin Moncloa, Jorge Piqueras, Joaquin Roca Rey, Emilio Rodriguez Larrain and Fernando de Szyszlo expressed and identified themselves with modern and abstract art. In 1969 Tilsa Tsuchiya and Jose Tola marked the return to Peruvian art and to nationalism.

The 80’s was a decade afflicted by violence. Photography and figurative expressionism took an important role in local art. The decade of the 1990s brought radical changes due to international influence and technical alternatives of new media forms, representing a new contemporary art creation in Peru.

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