Museu Calouste Gulbenkian Reopens After €7.8m Renovation
On July 18, the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon welcomed visitors again after an 18-month renovation that cost €7.8 million, bringing back its original 1969 exhibit. This initiative, led by Director Xavier Salomon along with architects Teresa Nunes da Ponte and Frédéric Ladonne, included improvements like better security, fire safety, ventilation, and lighting, incorporating anti-reflective glass and LED lights. The Islamic section now boasts special display cases for Mamluk mosque lamps, while the Asian galleries feature a fresh zigzag display design. A previous study area is now a numismatic cabinet, and the Assyrian winged-guardian relief has been cleaned and moved. This reopening coincides with the Gulbenkian Foundation's 70th anniversary, showcasing over 6,000 items collected by Calouste Gulbenkian.
Key facts
- Museu Calouste Gulbenkian reopened July 18, 2026 after 18-month renovation.
- Renovation cost €7.8m and focused on security, fire safety, ventilation, and lighting.
- Director Xavier Salomon led the project with architects Teresa Nunes da Ponte and Frédéric Ladonne.
- The museum returns to its original 1969 display, guided by photographs.
- New lighting system by French specialist ACL recreates 1960s amber glow with LED lights.
- A former study was converted into a numismatic cabinet for coins.
- The Assyrian winged-guardian relief was cleaned and moved to a prominent position.
- René Lalique gallery now features silk hangings and works by Burne-Jones and Sargent.
Entities
Artists
- Calouste Gulbenkian
- Xavier Salomon
- Alberto Pessoa
- Pedro Cid
- Ruy Jervis d’Athouguia
- Leslie Martin
- Georges Henri Rivière
- Franco Albini
- Jean-Antoine Houdon
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- Edward Burne-Jones
- John Singer Sargent
- René Lalique
- Teresa Nunes da Ponte
- Frédéric Ladonne
- Henry Clay Frick
- Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian
- Rembrandt
- Rubens
- Franca Helg
- Xavier F. Salomon
- Marta Atzeni
- Edouard Manet
- J.M.W. Turner
- Kengo Kuma
- Georges-Henri Rivière
- Carlo Rizzi
- Sonya Yoncheva
- Martin Scorsese
- Bob Dylan
- Adela Lovric
- Catherine the Great
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- David Chipperfield
- Renzo Piano
- John Soane
Institutions
- Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
- The Art Newspaper
- Frick Collection
- Hermitage Museum
- International Council of Museums
- ACL (lighting specialist)
- Museo Calouste Gulbenkian
- Artribune
- Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
- Gulbenkian Modern Art Centre (CAM)
- ArchDaily
- Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro
- Gulbenkian Foundation
- The Frick Collection
- CAM – Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian
- Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Neue Nationalgalerie
- Guggenheim Museum
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Kimbell Art Museum
- Yale Center for British Art
- Museo Nacional de Antropologia
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo
- MASP
Locations
- Lisbon
- Portugal
- Avenidas Novas
- Istanbul
- Ottoman Empire
- Syria
- Iraq
- New York
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Turkey
- United States
- Texas
- Connecticut
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Sao Paulo
- Brazil
- Russia
- Egypt
- Mesopotamia
- China
- Japan
- Italy
- England