The Ricardo Brennand Institute (, IRB) is a cultural institution located in the city of Recife, Brazil. It is a not-for-profit private organization, inaugurated in 2002 by the Brazilian collector and businessman Ricardo Brennand. It comprises a museum, an art gallery, a library and a large park.
The institute holds a permanent collection of historic and artistic objects of diversified provenience, ranging from Early Middle Ages to 20th century, with strong emphasis in objects, documents and artwork related to Colonial and Dutch Brazil, including the world's largest assemblage of paintings by Frans Post.
The institute also houses one of the largest collections of armory in the world, with 3,000 pieces, the majority of which were produced in Europe and Asia between the 14th and 19th centuries. The library has over 62 thousand volumes, ranging from 16th to 20th century, including a collection of brasiliana and other rare items.
History
The institute was created by Ricardo Brennand (Cabo de Santo Agostinho, 27 May 1927 — Recife, 25 April 2020), a Brazilian collector and businessman of English ancestry, born in Cabo de Santo Agostinho in 1927. Brennand established several factories in the Northeast Region of the country, acting in the segments of cement, tiles, glass, porcelain and sugar production. He started collecting armory, specially melee weapons, in the 1940s. In the following decades, his collection would grow in size and importance, becoming one of the largest such ensembles in the world.
In 1990, Brennand decided to sell some of his factories, gathering the financial resources needed to establish a museum with the aim of preserving and exhibiting his holdings. Prior to the institute opening, he also became interested in acquiring works of art, beside objects related to Brazilian history. He chose to focus his new acquisitions on the 17th century period of the Dutch occupation of Brazilian Northeast. In five years, Brennand acquired a large group of canvases by Frans Post, as well as 17th-century Dutch landscape and portrait paintings, maps, tapestries, objects, coins, documents and rare books, all of which acquainted to the Dutch rule in Brazil.
The Ricardo Brennand Institute was inaugurated in September 2002, with an exhibition devoted to Albert Eckhout, displaying for the first time outside Europe all of his paintings done in Brazil, which belong to the National Museum of Denmark. In 2003, the institute opened the permanent exhibition Frans Post and Dutch Brazil in the collection of Instituto Ricardo Brennand, inaugurated by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, on the occasion of her visit to Brazil.
Beside permanent and temporary exhibitions, the institute offers courses on history of art, educational program devoted to students of public and private schools of Pernambuco, art education programs for teachers and cultural activities in general.
Building and park
The institute is headquartered in a castle-like set of structures, named "Castelo de São João", designed after the Tudor style, with a total gross area of 77,000 square meters. It's a contemporary construction, blended with some original elements, such as a drawbridge, reliefs of coats of arms and a Gothic altarpiece brought from Europe. The complex consists of the Museum of Armory, an art gallery, a library, an auditorium and areas for public services and technical/administrative rooms.
The complex is surrounded by a garden, endowed with artificial lakes and a number of large-size sculptures, such as The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin, The lady and the horse by Fernando Botero, and other works by Sonia Ebling, Leopoldo Martins, etc.
Collections
The Ricardo Brennand Institute holdings comprise collections of painting, sculpture, armory, tapestry, decorative arts and furniture, with objects ranging from Early Middle Ages to the 20th century, proceeding from Europe, Asia, Americas and Africa.
Armory
The collection of armory, specialized in melee weapons, is among the largest of its kind in the world. It comprises nearly 3,000 objects, the majority of which produced in England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, India and Japan. The collection includes weapons used for hunting, battling (offensive and defensive), exhibition and decoration. One of the highlights is the set of 27 full plate armors (i.e., including shields, helmets, gauntlets and chain mails) produced between the 14th and the 17th centuries, as well as armors for dogs and horses.