The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (bellasartes.gob.ar) has the most extensive collection of Argentine art together with one of the most impressive collections of 19th and early 20th century paintings in Latin America. Key works by Argentine artists such as Xul Solar, Eduardo Sívori and Benito Quinquela Martín and Antonio Berni are on display, and there are also many paintings by European masters such as Picasso, Degas, Cézanne and van Gogh.
The museum collection also has some important works by Auguste Rodín who had an interesting relationship with BA. The museum’s founder, Eduardo Schiaffino purchased two works from Rodin in 1906, including The Thinker (1907) which sits in Plaza Mariano Moreno. That cast was one of the few made by Rodin before he destroyed the original mold. In 1900, Rodín also created the bronze sculpture of former President Sarmiento in Parque 3 de Febrero. It was the only commemorative sculpture that Rodín created outside of France and the first piece commissioned in the Americas.
The building itself is a former pump station that was used for the city’s waterworks. It was later remodeled by Alejandro Bustillo, an architect known for his work both in Buenos Aires and Bariloche.
