Rio - For those interested in museums

[mvan1]

Rio de Janeiro - 200-year-old national museum hit by huge fire Sunday evening after museum closed:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45392668

The building that housed the museum was the former residence of the Portuguese royal family.

also

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45392966

 

 

 

[SolaceSoul]

This is terrible. There is no sugar coating this.

“This isn't just Brazilian history that's gone up in flames - many see this as a metaphor for the city - and the country as a whole.”

[mvan1]

See the below link - 

The photos and video in the below link show the entire building in flames -

Some of the views show the extent of the fire.    

How could an empty and closed building suddenly go up in flames?

A major element of Brazilian history destroyed -   

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/sep/03/fire-engulfs-brazils-national-museum-video

[spastik00]

Heartbreaking.  Just absolutely heartbreaking.  Sure, Brazil may have some of the most beautiful men on the planet, but that doesn't overshadow some of the horrifying problems that seem to exist there.  How can you justify not funding any sort of protection for priceless cultural treasures like those?

I just hope that at least some of the items survived the fire.

[SolaceSoul]

According to a friend nearby, two of the closest fire hydrants weren't functional. They had to wait for water trucks and pump a nearby lake.

[Latbear4blk]

What a terrible tragedy. At least there are no human casualties. 

[Riobard]

Devastating ... this in ruins

[mvan1]

The photos in the above post appear to be of a different museum in Brazil -  However, the photos are of the same museum.

The top photo is of a painting that was not exactly painted to scale. 

Ignoring the artists changes, the photos in the above post are of the correct museum.  

Here are additional photos of the museum that burned last night - 

 

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Brasil+-+photo+-+Rio+de+Janeiro+-+Museu+Nacional&safe=active&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:CQ9Fj1ci-iLWIjhtbIha5E9s7n-8aye2_1V0I7YBNQ0SrLdNzJi6qrQfBfWhavDxIzkZ9EPR7nfJK1cBGaFfA-fMu8yoSCW1siFrkT2zuEZL7p320QG4UKhIJf7xrJ7b9XQgREdS5C7my98UqEgntgE1DRKst0xGJEtlYGofH1SoSCXMmLqqtB8F9EQKmYMqEJ3pAKhIJaFq8PEjORn0RzaMQXBhQ5oIqEgkQ9Hud8krVwBEbtU0ztiTiaCoSCUZoV8D58y7zEVtywBKJjBsf&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivi5OvzJ_dAhVEIjQIHdlSAK0Q9C96BAgBEBs&biw=1120&bih=609&dpr=1.5#imgrc=5vSZIT8qXo4fcM:

[mvan1]

This is now all gone - history lost 

 

•  National Museum of Natural History

Located in Quinta da Boa Vista , in the neighborhood of São Cristovão , the Natural History Museum is also known as Quinta Museum.

It has a great historical and scientific collection, counting among its main fossil attractions and skeletons of dinosaurs, Egyptian mummies, meteorites and many objects used by primitive civilizations.

 

Fire | Attention!

On the evening of September 2, 2018, a Sunday the museum news "catches fire" was announced. Unfortunately a fire of great proportions destroys practically the whole museum and the collection. Nothing is more sad to know that a historical and scientific collection accumulated over the years has been destroyed. The museum should have at least one local fire brigade. Another sad and shameful fact for culture and science in Brazil.

Location | How to get there

The National Museum is within the park of Quinta da Boa Vista, and to get there you can use the subway and get off at São Cristóvão station and cross an avenue. One of the Quinta's entrance gates is just next to the station. After a short walk through the gardens, you reach the old Imperial Palace that now houses the museum.

Although to visit the park is not charged any fee, to visit the museum is charged a ticket of affordable value to anyone.

Address: Quinta da Boavista, without number, São Cristóvão neighborhood - Rio de Janeiro - RJ | CEP: 20940-040

Opening Hours | Office hour: Tuesday to Sunday, including holidays, from 10 to 17hs. Monday from 12 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Phone: (21) 3938-6900

Price: Full R $ 6, half price R $ 3. Free entrance for children up to 5 years old, employees and students of UFRJ and seniors over 60 years. Discounts may be granted to families. | Website: ----

 

What to See on the Spot

For both adults and children, the collection or exhibited material in the museum is very interesting, and a walk to the place can become a lesson on the innumerable branches of the history of nature.

More than an exotic attraction for curious eyes, it is a precious collection of scientific study and human knowledge, and the building also carries an interesting and long story behind it, being once the former home of the Kings, when it was then called Imperial Palace of St. Kitts .

Meteorites and Mummies and Part of the Collection

The museum houses a historical and scientific collection of natural history, containing fossils from various parts of the world, skeletons of enormous dinosaurs, Indian clothing from various parts of the world, Egyptian mummies and esquifes, equipment and weapons from primitive civilizations and various objects and references to Brazilian Indians.

The collection is large and we visited the Museum in April 2008 and May 2009. It has been renovated and renovated.

The focus of each visitor's attention depends on the area of interest. Exactly at the entrance, there is a huge meteorite, found in the eighteenth century weighing more than 5 tons. As we walk through the museum we come across a room specially dedicated to the scientist Berta Lutz who was also a pioneer in the fight for women's rights. Already in another room there is on display a primitive recorder, manufactured by the company of Thomas Edson and used by Roquete Pinto, who made several recordings of indigenous songs and ceremonies.

The museum also has a huge collection of animals stuffed from both Brazilian and other fauna, including huge animals such as tiger and elephant. Certainly these animals, and all objects and items are or have been object of study by researchers. And they continue to be a collection of scientific research.

But for those who want to see some live animals, next to this museum, there is the Zoo of Rio de Janeiro, with very close entrance and inside the park of Quinta da Boa Vista.

Dinosaurs

One of the most interesting attractions of the museum are the huge skeletons of dinosaurs that really impress. They are shown on platforms that simulate the soil and surroundings of the place where they lived in prehistoric times.

Some illustrations reconstitute the appearance in painting, giving an idea of how these immense animals were if they were still alive.

In the first photo on the right, fossil of huge dinosaur exposed in the National Museum of Natural History.

There are several others exposed, both from land animals and from prehistoric birds. There is also a huge whale skeleton.

In the second photo on the right side the fossil skeleton of dinosaur bird and in the background the painting simulating its appearance.

In other exhibitions, as in this one, the intention is to give an idea of the natural environment where these prehistoric beings lived.

Indians and Different Civilizations on Display

In various wings of the museum are exposed clothing and objects from the most different civilizations and nations, peoples and cultures, some that still exist and others that no longer exist. The photo below, on the left side, shows an exhibition where several masks, blankets and other Indian dresses are seen in the center of the room, and indigenous objects such as oars, shovels, bows and flexas are used on the walls.

In the photo beside, a recorder of cylinders, marks Thomas Edson used by Roquete Pinto to register Indigenous songs.

This is an eye-catching object, as it is one of the earliest early sound and voice recorders that were manufactured by the company of Thomas Edson, the inventor of the electric lamp. The tape recorder was one of his innumerable inventions.

This recorder belonged to Roquete Pinto, a physician, writings and anthropologist, who used it to record indigenous songs in the early 20th century. The recorder used cylinders to record sounds, and the anthropologist's recorded drums are also on display. At the time the picture was taken, the hearing of the recorded sounds was not available through playback by other means. It would be very interesting if they could be heard.

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About the Museum Building

Located in Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristovão neighborhood, this Pallazzo in Neoclassical style, was the former home of Dom João VI, and after Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II, when it was called Paço Imperial de São Cristóvão . Dom João VI, when he came from Portugal to Brazil in 1808, first settled in the Imperial Palace of Praça XV, where the Viceroys or Governors of Colonial Brazil formerly lived.

National Museum of Natural History of Quinta da Boa Vista, former palace of the Royal Brazilian family until D.Pedro II.

Later a rich Portuguese merchant "donated" to the King a mansion-house erected by him in 1803 on a hill that due to its location gave a beautiful view to the Bay of Guanabara, hence the name Quinta da Boa Vista. D. João VI, Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II inhabited the place. But the Palace only took the current form in Neoclassical style after reforms and additions that were surpassed even with addition of a third floor.

There have been many interferences under the charge of various architects over time. To read more, see photos and paintings about the Imperial Palace of São Cristovão and its transformations to the time logo, click on the link ..

Besides this Palace, there is also the anitgo summer palace of the Royal family located in Petrópolis, mountainous region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, also museum and open to visitation.

Unlike the Palace of Petrópolis which is an Imperial Museum, the Palace of Quinta da Boa Vista houses the National Museum of Natural History, possessing a collection not only on Brazil, but also on the whole world.

In terms of Architecture, both differ in that, the Palace of Petropolis is much more conserved in terms of internal and external architecture. The Palace of Petrópolis looks much more welcoming and is better finished. The Quinta da Boa Vista Palace is more imposing, but more "cool".

At least to the point where one can visit, there are no references to the furnishings of the Empire nor to the old dwelling. After the Proclamation of the Republic, the furniture was withdrawn.

Origins | The First Museum

It is also called the National Museum of UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and also known as Quinta da Boa Vista Museum.

Originally the National Museum was created by D. João VI in the year 1818, 10 years after his arrival in Brazil. At that time it was called the Royal Museum.

However, the first Brazilian museum of natural history was founded by the Viceroy Dom Luis de Vasconcelos before the arrival of D.João VI. This museum was known as "Casa dos Passáros" for having stuffed birds, these birds that were transferred to the then Royal Museum.

The first headquarters of the Royal Museum was located in Campo de Santana, in the center of Rio de Janeiro. Only after the proclamation of the Republic did the Museum change its facilities to the palace of Quinta da Boa Vista. The building where the old Royal Museum (now National Museum) was housed was later occupied by the National Archive.

Research and Scientific Development | Is a Museum Just a Place of Trivia?

Some people may at first glance imagine that a natural history museum is just a place of entertainment or a kind of place to house a heap of old things and curiosities to lure visitors in search of entertainment. But the function of a museum goes far beyond mere superficial analysis.

The creation of the Royal Museum turned to stimulate the scientific knowledge in Brazil. And it continues to be also a fishing institution, with several laboratories and postgraduate courses. The pieces on display at the Museum were objects of research and studied by several departments such as Geology, Antropology, Paleontology, Botany and Zoology. The Museum was incorporated to the old University of Brazil in 1946, which is currently called UFRJ.

Also installed in Quinta da Boavista is the National Museum Library in a separate building and also an area of the Department of Botany called Horto Botânico of the National Museum which contains centennial trees, numerous cataloged plant species and ecological beds. Within the area of Horto are also installed botanical and zoology laboratories, small buildings of historical value and the building that houses the Library of the National Museum. However, this area seems not to be open to regular visitation, at least on the weekend we visited in 2009. There may be specific days or scheduling for visitation.

References

• Report of visits to the site and consultation of various books about Rio de Janeiro and its history for the creation of this page and article.

More information

You can find more information at the official website of the museum at http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/

 

[Riobard]

The one painting and one photo I posted may look "off" in comparison, but the complex underwent several expansions and renovations throughout the mid-nineteenth century. The royal family dispersed following Independence in 1889 and the main museum, previously located in Centro, was transferred to the palace in 1892. 

[mvan1]

The painting you posted was excellent - thank you. 

[trencherman]

Heartbreaking but not as outrageous as when religious zealots destroy works of art as the Taliban and ISIS recently did or the dismantling of practically the whole of Western antiquity by the early Christians.

 

[mvan1]

https://globalnews.ca/video/4424933/aerial-view-shows-burned-out-national-museum-in-brazil

A news clip and video of the disaster