This museum could win the award for most peculiar architecture. The brilliant and asymmetrical façade, formed by 16,000 aluminum hexagons, are unique elements of the building designed by Fernando Romero. Nevertheless, it’s even more dazzling inside where you come across Augusto Rodin’s “The Thinker,” a sculpture that along with the other 6,200 works, is part of its permanent collection.
The tour is quite an experience. A walk along the curved ramps that offer access to the six showrooms becomes a journey through the history of art. The first room consists of a large sample of applied arts and gold and silver artifacts, as well as the largest collection of banknotes and coins of the viceregal era. The second story houses antique pieces from European and New Spain master artists. You can observe works from Greco, Tintoretto, Rubens, Juan Correa and Miguel Cabrera.
Perhaps one of the busiest rooms is that which houses the impressionism and avant-garde works. The canvases of Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec coexist with the colorful works of Gauguin, the brushstrokes of Picasso and the surrealism of Dalí and Miró.
The area dedicated to Mexican art takes us from ancient to modern times. You can see pieces by Tamayo, Dr. Atl, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and later generations, such as Soriano and Toledo.
In the highest part of the museum you’ll find the grandiose sculptures of Rodin, accompanied by works of his pupils Claudel and Bourdelle.
The museum also has a temporary exhibition hall, an auditorium with capacity for 300 people, the library with a collection of 3,000 copies, a shop and cafeteria. Each month they organize activities and workshops for the whole family, conference cycles and film screenings. Free guided tours also are available.
Although it has received criticism for its curatorship and museology, the collection is impressive.