A vital
part of Goa’s cultural panorama is The
Institute Menezes Braganza which was established in the year 1871. It is an
enriching storehouse of priceless paintings and antiques right from the time
the Portuguese were ruling Goa. Initially it
was called the Institute Vasco da Gama. This was later renamed after Menezes
Braganza, an eminent Goan freedom fighter.
The Menezes Braganza museum boasts of a valuable collection of sculptures,
paintings, and drawings. Its enviable repertoire contains 250 original works in
the form of oil paintings, prints, and sculptures of European and Portuguese
masters of the 19th century, including father of modern art Cezanne, Henry
Russo, Renoir, Groze, Pissaro and Mattis Broque, a contemporary of Picasso. The
Institute also contains over 50 collections of Indian masters like M F Hussain,
Laxman Pai, Prafull Dahanukar, Souza, Raza, etc. The most prominent among the
historical artifacts is the famous "Inquisition table" on which the
council of the Inquisition's proceedings was conducted. It also houses the
Central Library of the Institute, founded in 1832, which is the oldest public
library in India.
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