One of the biggest museums in the Caribbean, this 130,000-square-foot building was once known as San Juan Municipal Hospital. The beautiful neoclassical building, dating from the 1920s, proved to be too small to house the museum's permanent collection of Puerto Rican art dating from the 17th century to the present. The solution was to build a new east wing, which is dominated by a five-story-tall stained-glass window, the work of local artist Eric Tabales. The collection starts with works from the colonial era, most of them commissioned for churches. Here you can find works by José Campeche, the island's first great painter. His Immaculate Conception, finished in 1794, is a masterpiece. Also well represented is Francisco Oller y Cestero, who was the first to move beyond religious subjects to paint local scenes. His influence is still felt today. A gallery on the top floor is filled with works by artists inspired by Oller.
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