Lisbon's Museu Calouste Gulbenkian returns to its mid-century modern roots following major renovation

Lisbon’s Museu Calouste Gulbenkian reopened on Saturday, 18 July, after an 18-month, €7.8m refurbishment intended to restore the galleries as closely as possible to their original 1969 presentation, according to director Xavier Salomon. The renovation upgraded essential systems including security, fire safety, ventilation, and lighting, and coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The museum houses the collection of Calouste Gulbenkian (1869–1955), the oil magnate known as “Mr Five Percent,” who amassed more than 6,000 objects and acquired major works from the Hermitage in 1930, including Jean-Antoine Houdon’s Diana (1780), Peter Paul Rubens’ Portrait of Helena Fourmont (1630–31), and two Rembrandts. The foundation, created in 1956 and now holding assets of around €3.5bn, opened its headquarters and museum in 1969 in a single-storey Brutalist building by architects Alberto Pessoa, Pedro Cid, and Ruy Jervis d’Athouguia, with consultants including Leslie Martin, Georges Henri Rivière, and Franco Albini.

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