Nature + Culture II

Our first stop is at the Museu Casa do Pontal. Set in a beautiful house far away from the city the museum has an encompassing collection of Brazilian popular art. Thanks to the designer Jacques Van de Beuque, who dedicated 40 year of research, the work of more than 200 artists from many different parts of Brazil can be put together, and more than 8,000 art pieces can be displayed in what is an authentic anthropological window to the roots of the Brazilian culture.

After a stop to have lunch at a nearby restaurant, we head to the property of Roberto Burle Marx. This estate was the residence of the world-famous landscape designer from 1949 through 1994. Thousands of plant species ranging from the rare lacquer palm of Malaysia to the famous Brazilian ironwood populate an area of 350,000 square meters in which countless shades of green serve as background for vivid flowers.

A Benedictine chapel dating back to 1610 also lies in the estate, along with the original farmhouse, the old studio and the new workshop, where you can see displays of paintings, furniture, crystals and sculptures made by the talented designer.
Burle Marx is also known for having conceived the Copacabana’s sidewalk mosaic patterns, the landscape of the Flamengo Park, among other works.