National Gallery of Art


If you are planning to visit the capital of Honduras , carefully take a closer look at the National Gallery of Arts, which houses one of the largest and most interesting expositions on the art of the country.

Location:

The building of the National Gallery of Art (The Galeria Nacional de Arte) can be found near the Central Park of Tegucigalpa, next to the Congress, in the Plaza de Merced (Plaza de Merced).

History of the gallery

The two-story structure of the National Art Gallery of Honduras was built in 1654 and is a classic monument of colonial architecture. Funds for the construction of the gallery were highlighted by the monastery of San Pedro Nolasco. Initially, this building belonged to the monastery of Our Lady of Mercy. Then in the period from 1857 to 1968, here was the first University of the country. In 1985, the restoration of the building began, after which, after 9 years, the room was placed under the display of the National Gallery of Art.

What interesting can you see in the gallery?

The first thing to note is the facade of the building, painted in white, with which the window frames and doorways of dark and mahogany harmonize.

The collection of the gallery is so extensive that here you can see works of Honduran art from the Mayan to modern times, including the colonial period.

In the museum there are 12 rooms, the exposition is distributed in them in chronological order. One of the halls is dedicated to holding temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.

All exhibits are signed for the convenience of tourists in two languages ​​- English and Spanish.

To view the exposition, select at least three hours, since in the gallery you can see several areas of art:

  1. Rock art. The museum holds a special tour that will allow visitors to learn about the very first forms of writing - petroglyphs. In the gallery there are several replicas of paintings from the caves of Jaguakire and Talanga, ancient frescoes and petroglyphs from Paraiso.
  2. Sculptures. Located in Hall number 2 and belong to the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. The exhibits were taken from the reserve in Kopan . In this same room there is an exhibition of pre-Columbian ceramics, collected from various archaeological museums of the country.
  3. Picture gallery. You can see the painting from the beginning of Latin America. Many pictures are dedicated to the spread and preaching of Christianity and the gospel themes in art.
  4. Silver collection. Items of the colonial period used on the Mass are presented. Among the treasures is a gilded precious monster with inlaid with precious stones, silver candlesticks, a gilded staff, the crown of the duke. Most of the exhibits are taken from the Tegucigalpa Cathedral.

The National Gallery of Art is actively involved in the development of tourism business in Honduras.

How to get there?

Once in the capital of Honduras, you can go to the National Gallery of Arts by public transport or by taxi. Rent a car, follow the highway CA-5 or Boulevard Kuwait, which lead you to the city center.