u/Lied_von_der_Erde

Last month I was in São Paulo for work and took the opportunity to visit the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), Brazil’s most well-known museum. MASP is famous for it's glass easels that suspend the paintings, creating a floating effect. I went to see the current exhibition and was really excited about it, but ended up leaving with mixed feelings.

The first issue was the floating display itself. While it is undoubtedly a landmark design by architect Lina Bo Bardi, it creates competing points of attention. Not only did I catch myself looking at the paintings behind the actual work I was trying to observe, but people walking around in the background also kept breaking my focus. Simply too much visual noise.

coincidence // the info about the painting stay in the back of it, so you can appreciate before \"judging\"

Then there’s the issue with the glass panels. I understand that they’re for conservation, but some paintings, especially the larger ones, had way too much glare. I did some research and found out that they use Schott Mirogard glass instead of Optium Museum Acrylic. However, I’m only a museum enthusiast, and to be completely honest, I’m not sure that’s the actual problem, since their reflection indices are very close.

My best guess is that without solid walls, it’s just much harder to control light diffusion across the room, even if you use high-quality LED lighting. On top of that, it’s inevitable to assume that there are many errors in execution from the exhibition designer that enhance the problem.

Here are some examples: masp-inadequacies

Rubens — The Archduke Albert VII of Austria

Velázquez — Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares

What do you guys think about this kind of exhibition display? Has anyone else experienced something similar?

** Btw, I’m aware of my pickiness and had zero issues with the majority of the paintings. But come on, when you’re dealing with something at this level of excellence, just let it be. Don’t get creative. It reflects an inversion of design priorities, in which the exhibition apparatus is granted precedence over the artwork itself, preventing one from fully appreciating masterpieces by Velázquez or Rubens because of a curatorial preference for a display method that compromises the direct dialogue between artist and viewer.