Surrounded by fine art in the Museu do Acude.

Located in the Floreta da Tijuca district, The Museu do Acude is set in a tropical forest in the middle of Rio de Janeiro. Surrounded by spectacular views of the city, the sea and winding roads that weave in and around trees and overhang, the Museu do Acude is the former home of Raymondo Castro Maya, a well known industrialist and art enthusiast in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Born in Paris, Raymondo Castro Maya and his father, a well-regarded railway engineer, were invited to Brasil at the personal request of the Emperor Dom Pedro II as tutors for the emperor’s children. Castro Maya’s mother was an heiress to a highly established family. Castro Maya came to Brazil at the age of eight and eventually graduated with a degree in law. Having developed a taste for rare and exquisite art and objects, Castro Maya surrounded himself with beautiful artifacts that are now available for viewing by anyone who wishes to venture into one of his former residences. Also one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, he held another residence in addition to the Museu do Acude that is also now a museum. It’s exhibits include a large collection on famous works by the likes of Dali, Braque, Degas, Matisse, and Monet, as well as a large collection of watercolors and drawings by Jean Baptiste Debret.

The Museu do Acude is dedicated to the history of Rio de Janeiro and antique furnishings and objects. The museum was donated by Castro Maya in 1943. The collection includes colonial furnishings and old traditional tiles. Also, the Museu do Acude holds valuable collections of porcelain from the West India Company, and images of Rio de Janeiro by Brazilian and foreign artists of the 17th-19th centuries.

The Museu do Acude was renovated in 1920 to neocolonial style. The museum’s Portuguese tiles date back to the 17th century. Also on display is period furniture, silverware and glassware. There is also a collection of Oriental art which includes sculptures, paintings, engravings and rugs. Some Brazilian popular art is also represented with ceramics by Mestre Vitalino and other Northeaster artists.

There are over 150,000 square meters of gardens surrounding the mansion, near Tijuca Forest. Tijuca forest is a hand-planted mountainous rainforest that is considered to be the largest urban forest, covering some 32 square kilometers. The forest contains thousands of rare and endangered species of plants and animals, it also is the home of one of Rio’s most famed landmarks the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Other places of interest near the Museu do Acude are the Emperor Table and the Chinese View.