Ricardo Brennand Institute

The Ricardo Brennand Institute (Portuguese: Instituto Ricardo Brennand, IRB) is a cultural institution located in the city of Recife, Brazil. It is a not-for-profit private organization, inaugurated in 2002 by the Brazilian collector and businessman Ricardo Brennand. It comprises a museum, an art gallery, a library and a large park. The institute holds a permanent collection of historic and artistic objects of diversified provenience, ranging from Early Middle Ages to 20th century, with strong emphasis in objects, documents and artwork related to Colonial and Dutch Brazil, including the world's largest assemblage of paintings by Frans Post. The institute also houses one of the largest collections of armory in the world. History The institute was created by Ricardo Brennand (Cabo de Santo Agostinho, 27 May 1927 — Recife, 25 April 2020), a Brazilian collector and businessman of English ancestry, born in Cabo de Santo Agostinho in 1927. Brennand established several factories in the Northeast Region of the country, acting in the segments of cement, tiles, glass, porcelain and sugar production. He started collecting armory, specially melee weapons, in the 1940s. In the following decades, his collection would grow in size and importance, becoming one of the largest such ensembles in the world. In 1990, Brennand decided. Building and park The institute is headquartered in a castle-like set of structures, named "Castelo de São João", designed after the Tudor style , with a total gross area of 77,000 square meters. It's a contemporary construction, blended with some original elements, such as a drawbridge , reliefs of coats of arms and a Gothic altarpiece brought from Europe. The complex consists of the Museum of Armory, an art gallery , a library , an auditorium and areas for public services and technical/administrative rooms. The complex is surrounded by a 18,000 hectares (44,000 acres) garden.