Sao Paulo marks the opening of the city art museum's new building with a Renoir exhibit

SAO PAULO — São Paulo is marking the opening of its famed art museum's new building with a Renoir exhibit and art lovers are already flocking to the Brazilian city.

The new, 14-story tower of Sao Paulo Museum of Art — better known as MASP after its initials and one of the country's most visited — opened its doors on March 28, bringing to completion its architectural vision 77 years after the museum was inaugurated.

The tower is named after the museum's first artistic director, Pietro Maria Bardi, and includes five exhibition galleries, two multi-purpose galleries, a restoration lab, classrooms, a restaurant, and a museum shop.

The 13 works by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir are a special draw and treat to visitors, while others come eager to see how the original red MASP building blends with the new addition on the Paulista Avenue, Brazil's most recognizable business road.

Next month, the museum will host an exhibition of works of Claude Monet, another French impressionist and an art fan favorite in Brazil.

The new building more than doubles the museum space to 7,821 square meters (84,184 square feet), increasing MASP's exhibition capacity by 66%. Its façade is made of perforated and pleated metal sheets, which add to the brutalist style conception of the original building next to it.

Construction started in 2019 and was entirely sponsored by donors who spent about 250 million Brazilian reais ($43 million) on the project, inspired by vertical museum typologies such as those in New York City, MASP said.

''MASP is the main museum in the Southern Hemisphere in terms of European art collection," said said Paulo Vicelli, MASP's director for experience and communication. "We have more than 11,000 works; Amedeo Modigliani, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Rafael, the great masters. But also important artists from Brazil.''

''Art can transform people, the city," he added. "Everyone who comes leaves a different person.''

The original MASP building was in a different venue for 20 years but then in 1968 moved to the Paulista Avenue. The museum — a prime example of brutalism, a form characterized by exposed concrete structures, emphasis on raw materials and monumental scale — is the work of architect Lina Bo Bardi.

Over the years, it has become one of Sao Paulo's most recognizable touristic attractions.

''MASP has grown and become bigger than its building. It was necessary to push the boundaries,'' said museum director Heitor Martins. ''This is a historic moment. ... Two buildings form one museum.''

An underground walkway connecting the two buildings is expected to be completed in November. Until then, visitors will have to briefly step out on the busy Paulista Avenue to move from one building to the other.

Naira Regis de Moura, a 60-year old tourist from the southern city of Porto Alegre, said she was moved when she saw MASP's new tower. She came to Sao Paulo for a concert, but found a way to squeeze a museum visit into her schedule.

''This is a landmark for Brazilian art,'' she said.

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AP videojournalist Tatiana Pollastri in Sao Paulo, Brazil contributed to this report.