Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was born in 1869 in Istanbul and was one of the best known philanthropists of the twentieth century who made his fortune through investments in Iraqi oil. One of his first forays into the art world led him to the Soviet Union, specifically the Hermitage Museum, which bought a large collection of art drawing on the country’s economic weakness. That collection was bequeathed to his death in 1955, to Portugal, where he had resided in the last years of his life.

And it is this collection that today can be admired in Lisbon, in a small museum that is both one of the most diverse in the world, offers visitors more than 6,000 works of art including creations of all time and both Eastern and Western art. All great civilizations are represented in the Gulbenkian Museum: Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, the Far East … All of a tour of the History of Art.

Starting highlight the ancient Egyptian art pieces for the covering from prehistoric times to the arrival of the Romans. Also from that era are the works that lead east across Persia, Turkey, Syria and Armenia: pottery, tiles, mosaics, books…

The following rooms house the collection of European paintings and sculptures ranging from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, and containing works by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens and Rodin, and are grouped by Schools: Flemish, Netherlands or France.

Finally note that in their gardens not only provide summer concerts, but also are located there, the Modern Art Center and the headquarters of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.