Inside the pink museum

This Saturday I decided to take advantage of one of the city's many freebies, so I visited the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.  The building, like the presidential Casa Rosada, is made of pink adobe, which begs the question, "why don't we have any pink government buildings in the States?"

Unfortunately I had to check my purse and camera at the front and as a result have no pictures to share from inside the museum.  I can tell you though that the bottom floor consisted entirely of European pieces.  Apparently the E.U. likes keeping its best works within the continent; with the exception of a few nice pieces from Rodin and Goya, the bottom-floor made me yawn...perhaps I was too spoiled in Florence? 

Thankfully, the second floor was exclusively pieces from South America with an emphasis on Argentine art, obviously.  One of the rooms featured recovered artifacts from the native tribes that inhabited the present-day Argentina before the conquistadors.  Call me an anthropology dork, but it was one of my favorite parts of the whole museum: stone-faced talismans, hybrid-animal vases and intricate yarn work.  Not to mention the indigenous music playing in the background added some nice ambiance.

In addition to ancient artifacts, the more contemporary pieces from the 19th and 20th century were interesting too since the predominant style changed every couple of decades.  While I'm no expert on the subject, it seems to me that Argentina is a country that's caught in a constant tug-of-war between its European heritage and its Latin American roots.  The works in Museo Nacional exemplied this disconnect: A post-Impressionist landscape was right around the corner from a formal portrait of young porteño or a nude painting of an indigenous woman.  Basically the collection was a huge mezcla, or mix, just like Argentina.

I really wish I'd had my camera at the top floor, where a small sculpture patio overlooked the bustling Avenida del Libertador.  A lone bench allowed you the option of chilling out with the sculptures while  enjoying the view of the massive law school building or even the iconic metal flower, Floris Generis, nearby. 

Perhaps next time I'll sneak my camera and a sandwich for an artsy rooftop picnic.