Visitors from all over the world are often drawn to Rio de Janeiro because of its landmarks like Ipanema, Sugarloaf Mountain, or the iconic 30-metre tall Christ the Redeemer statue. Less talked about is its history, however, and even more so with regards to the arts industry. To discover more about Brazil’s fine arts in the recent past, the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes is where you should head to when you’re in the city.

The museum contains over 20,000 works that comprises various art mediums such as paintings and sculptures. Here, you can find masterpieces by Brazilian and foreign artists that illustrate many forms of art styles through the decades. Some highlights include one of the largest oil paintings in the world, the Battle of Avay, done by Pedro Américo and completed in the 1870s. Combining imagination and history, it gives viewers an image of how one of the last battles in the Paraguayan War was like. Apart from the main artworks, African art is also displayed, as well as more modern and contemporary collections that incorporate hybrid materials.