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The Victor Meirelles Museum is a Brazilian museum dedicated mainly to the preservation of the memory and work of Victor Meirelles de Lima, one of the most important painters of Brazilian Romanticism. It is located in the city of Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, mounted in the house that belonged to the painter, in the city center. It is an institution linked to IPHAN, having been inaugurated on November 15, 1952.



The Victor Meirelles Museum is a Brazilian museum dedicated mainly to the preservation of the memory and work of Victor Meirelles de Lima, one of the most important painters of Brazilian Romanticism. It is located in the city of Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, mounted in the house that belonged to the painter, in the city center. It is an institution linked to IPHAN, having been inaugurated on November 15, 1952.



At the time, the state of construction was not critical, but renovations were inevitable after many years of neglect. It is a small townhouse typical of 18th century Portuguese-Brazilian civil architecture, with a ground floor dedicated to commerce and the upper residence, and remains one of the few examples of its kind in the Santa Catarina capital.





In the following decade the house underwent maintenance renovations, and other pieces were incorporated into the National Museum lending. Another intervention in the building took place between 1969 and 1974, during which time the museum remained closed to the public. At this time a donation from Admiral Lucas Boiteaux's family brought to the collection another watercolor and six drawings by the author, two portraits of Meirelles made by other artists, and a documentary collection. During the renovation the pieces were deposited at the Santa Catarina Museum of Art, from where they left for restoration and returned to their home.



A visit by Aracy Amaral gave the impetus for the creation of a documentation center and a new conception of the museum as a culture center in greater contact with the population, although they could only be fully implemented in the 1990s. Before, without ideal conditions conservation, the collection suffered some degradation, and the house was again closed in 1982 for renovations to control humidity. After the reopening other pieces from the MNBA in 1986 added to the collection eight watercolors, eight drawings and thirteen oils: Christ on the Waves, The Wreck of Medusa (copy of Theodore Géricault), Suliot Women, Portrait of Lady with Costume from 1870, Man's Head, Princess Isabel's Wedding, Woman's Head, Women's Costume Study, Men's Costume Study, and The Degolation of St. John the Baptist.



The constant structural problems of the house, which hindered the conservation of the collection, gave rise to the Victor Meirelles Project, with a proposal for a complete reformulation of the physical spaces and the concept of the institution. For its implementation the house was closed and the collection transferred to the Santa Catarina Historical Museum, remaining there until the renovations were completed and the museum reopened on August 18, 1994. The Project modernized all exhibition equipment and technical rooms, and museography has been completely re-studied, creating also a space for temporary exhibitions of other artists. The project also included an urbanistic reorganization of the surrounding area, with the closing of the street in front and the creation of a cultural square, and the incorporation of a floor of a neighboring building as an annex.



The main nucleus of the museum is, of course, the collection of pieces created by Victor Meirelles. There are paintings, studies, drawings and watercolors of various stages of his career, from early works such as the landscapes of the old Vila do Desterro, today Florianópolis, to watercolors of Italian costumes made in Italy, sending pieces while a fellow in Europe, such as the copy of the Wreck of Medusa, by Géricault and The Degolation of St. John the Baptist, and studies for famous works such as The First Mass in Brazil, The Battle of Guararapes and The Passage of Humaitá.



The most recent acquisitions, 2004, are a hands-on study for The First Mass in Brazil, donated by the Victor Meirelles Association, and two watercolors made in Italy, acquired by the 11th Regional Superintendent of IPHAN.



Beyond this nucleus the museum is forming a collection of contemporary works by nationally projected artists who hold temporary exhibitions there, such as Fernando Lindote, Sergio Ferro, Amilcar de Castro, Alex Gama, Carlos Asp and Dudi Maia Rosa.

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