The Soares dos Reis National Museum expresses its satisfaction with the advancement of the classification process of the Monastery of Tibães as a National Monument.
The draft decision of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage is in public consultation for a period of 30 days, after being published yesterday in Republic Diary.
The project provides for the expansion of the classification of the “Church and monastery of Tibães, fountains and architectural constructions of the respective farm”, the reclassification as a national monument, and the redenomination to “Monastery of São Martinho de Tibães”.
Founded in the 11th century, obeying the Benedictine rule, the Monastery of Tibães became the Mother House of the Congregation of S. Bento dos Reinos de Portugal from 1567 onwards, a status it maintained until its extinction in 1834.
It reached its maximum splendor in the 17th and 18th centuries, emerging as an important center for disseminating Portuguese Education, Art and Culture.
After the closure of the monastery, religious activity continued until the present day, with the church, the sacristy and the cloister of the cemetery being used by the parish. The remaining areas of the building and the convent fence were sold to private parties.
In 1944 it was classified as a Property of Public Interest, with the Portuguese State acquiring the fence and the private part of the building in 1986.
It should be remembered that the initial nucleus of the collection of the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis is mainly composed of works of Painting and Engraving taken in 1833 from the abandoned monasteries, hospices and convents of Porto.
With the promulgation of the decree of extinction of religious orders in 1834, the artistic assets of the monasteries of S. Martinho de Tibães and Santa Cruz de Coimbra were integrated into the Museum.
In 2001, 66 works from the collection of the Soares dos Reis National Museum were deposited at the Tibães Monastery, by authors such as Domingos Sequeira, Teixeira Barreto and Joaquim Rafael, among others. Other works were deposited in 2008, after undergoing restoration work.
This first public art museum in the country inventoried paintings, engravings and historical objects.
The Soares dos Reis National Museum thus originates from the Museum of Paintings and Prints and other objects of Fine Arts, created by D. Pedro IV of Portugal, the first Emperor of Brazil. Known as the Portuense Museum, it was housed in the extinct Convent of Santo António da Cidade, in S. Lázaro square. It was during the civil war between liberals and absolutists (1832-34) that D. Pedro ordered the painter João Batista Ribeiro to collect works of art from supporters of his opponent D. Miguel and from the abandoned convents of Porto – the nucleus that began the collection of Museum.