The Printmaking Museum: Museo Nacional de la Estampa

The Museo Nacional de la Estampa (MUNAE) is the national printmaking and graphic arts museum. English-speakers, perhaps through no fault of their own, may confuse it with the Museo de Estanquillo, a private collection of eclectic collectibles. It also gets confused the museum inside the Postal Palace. That one does include some information on philately.

But all of this is a shame, because the National Printmaking Museum is a major collection of important works, about 12,000 of them. Many are by Mexican artists. But the international collection is enormous too. Since the museum opened in 1986, its artistic heritage has grown. This has been thanks to the generosity of other institutions, collectors, artists, publishers and workshops. Donations have continued to enrich the collection.

The former Parroquia de la Santa Veracruz and the San Juan de Dios church, dates back about 400 years. The Parroquia de la Santa Veracruz is believed to have been the first church in Mexico City. The MUNAE opened in 1986, and the building dates from the end of the 19th century.

The MUNAE acts to study and educate on the multiple printmaking processes practiced in the country. Prints are understood as a visual art whose particularity is in its multiple and reproducible character. The museum’s mission is to preserve, document, and research the National Collection of Prints.

While the Museo Nacional de la Estampa does offer sometime workshops in printmaking, most international will be keenly interested in the collection. Exhibitions rotate frequently, but each offers something fascinating and curious to lean in to see.