Ricardo Brennand Institute, Recife

Comprising a museum, an art gallery, a library, and a large park, Ricardo Brennand Institute holds a permanent collection of historic and artistic objects from diverse sources. Collections range from Early Middle Ages to the 20th century, with a strong emphasis on objects, documents, and artwork related to Colonial and Dutch Brazil. You'll see the world's largest assemblage of paintings by Frans Post in the art gallery.

The Institute houses one of the largest collections of armory in the world, with 3,000 pieces including a rich collection of knives and melee weapons--the majority of which were produced in Europe and Asia between the 14th and 19th century. One of the highlights is the set of 27 full plate armors, including shields, helmets, gauntlets, and chain mail produced between the 14th and the 17th centuries, as well as armor for dogs and horses.

The collection of decorative arts includes objects from Europe, Asia, and Africa that date back to the 17th century, such as candlesticks, candelabra, jugs, mosaics, stained glass windows, miniature caskets, Chinese ceramics, and musical instruments. The fine art collection comprises paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings dating back to the 15th century represented by local Brazilian artists and European painters.

You can browse in the library that has over 62,000 volumes ranging from the 16th to 20th century, including books, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, sheet music, phonograph records, photographs, iconographic albums, and rare works, including a collection of Brazilian texts and rare items. Featured pieces in the collections include the 17th-century painting "Armor Collection" by Francesco Maltese, "White Slaves Market" by Domenico Rosso from 1884, and "Waterfall in the Forest" by Frans Post in 1657. Use our Recife trip itinerary maker tool to visit Ricardo Brennand Institute on your trip to Recife, and learn what else travelers and our writers recommend seeing nearby.