ARTE SACRA MUSEUM
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The Museum of Sacred Art is housed in the former bishop's palace. His journey begins with a beautiful collection of silver and goldsmithery that reminds us of the ancient splendour of Madeira's Masses. In addition to the chalices, censers, amphorae and the imposing processional cross in gilded silver from the 16th century, you will notice the statue of Saint Sebastian, whose martyred body was pierced with arrows.
A space is dedicated to the copes, chasubles in silk embroidered with gold and other precious stoles. The tour continues with a collection of paintings and sculptures, mostly from the Dutch school, that are worth a look. The works are undoubtedly closer to what was produced by the anonymous Flemish workshops in the 16th and 17th centuries. These sometimes clumsy paintings were exchanged for precious sugar loaves of which the island was then one of the only suppliers. We will also see tender paintings, such as this Visit of the Magi where the Child Jesus puts his hand on the nose of a kneeling Melchior; or this Adoration of the Shepherds in which the moon shelters the silhouette of a naive angel under the interested gaze, in the background, of a little shepherd. In the last room, turn right after the entrance to admire a small oil on wood representing Saint Jerome. On the other hand, it is impossible to miss the fragment of an angel sculpture in Room 11, these two legs and this small piece of wing, remains of a sculpture that must have been monumental. Unauthorized photos.
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