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The Museu do Caramulo is located in a village known for its many spas, originally developed through the initiative of Dr. Jerónimo de Lacerda, who established the country’s largest sanatorium complex. His children, Abel and João de Lacerda, founded the museum in the 1950s, which is best known for its exceptional collection of classic automobiles and also features a refined selection of artworks.

The museum has in its collection two significant works of Flemish paintings, which bear witness to the cultural depth of this artistic period. Reflecting the museum’s ambition to bring together key art pieces in the history of European art, Vertumno and Pomona by Jacob Jordaens and Saint Bernardino of Siena by Quentin Matsys are outstanding examples of the Flemish school’s mastery, technique, and symbolic richness. Jordaens’s work reflects the reception of classical mythology in Flanders and its reinterpretation within the humanist and Christian context of the seventeenth century. Meanwhile, Matsys’ Saint Bernardino of Siena is a remarkable example of late Flemish Gothic, defined by technical precision and realism. Bridging the sacred and the profane, faith and myth, devotion and aesthetic pleasure, both works reveal the enduring impact of the Flemish tradition on Western culture. 

Inês Pina, Heritage Manager (June 2025)