Museu Henrique e Francisco Franco

The Museu Henrique e Francisco Franco is a small art museum at Rua de João de Deus 13 in Funchal, on the island of Madeira in Portugal, dedicated to two brothers born in Madeira who became prominent Portuguese artists of the 20th century. Francisco Franco, born in 1885 and died in 1955, was a sculptor who studied in Lisbon and Paris and became one of the leading Portuguese sculptors of his generation, producing monuments, public statues and portrait works. Among his best-known public works is the monument to João Gonçalves Zarco in Funchal and the large statue of Christ the King at Almada, near Lisbon. His brother Henrique Franco, born in 1883 and died in 1961, was a painter whose work includes landscapes, portraits and decorative paintings. The museum brings their work together. Its collection includes sculptures in stone, bronze and plaster, preparatory studies and models for monuments, drawings, and paintings, which show the working process behind public commissions as well as the brothers' personal artistic ideas. The display is organised around the two artists and their careers, with sculpture and painting presented side by side, and it provides a view of Portuguese art in the first half of the 20th century, including the transition from academic naturalism to a simplified modern manner. The scale of the museum is intimate, and a visit is brief, usually 30 to 45 minutes. It offers a counterpoint to the historic religious and colonial sites of Funchal and a chance to see the artistic life of the island in the modern period. Admission is paid, and opening times and prices should be confirmed at visit.funchal.pt, since schedules can change. The museum is within reach of the centre of Funchal on foot and combines well with other cultural stops in the city. Visitors interested in the monuments seen around Funchal will find this museum helpful for understanding their creator.