Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo

A red-brick building left with its walls unplastered and walkways of steel crossing its open courtyards gives the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo) its unusual character. The building was designed by Ramos de Azevedo at the end of the nineteenth century for an arts and crafts school. Architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha remodelled it in the 1990s, roofing the courtyards in glass and leaving the brick exposed, and the result is as much a reason to come as the art.

Founded in 1905, it is the oldest art museum in São Paulo, and its collection concentrates on Brazilian art from the nineteenth century to the present. Highlights include Almeida Júnior's paintings of rural São Paulo life, such as Caipira picando fumo and Saudade, and modernist work by artists including Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti and Lasar Segall.

The museum stands beside the Jardim da Luz park and draws more than 400,000 visitors a year. It suits anyone wanting a clear picture of how Brazilian art developed.