The National Museum of Arte Decorativo is dedicated to design and decorative arts, it has valuable collections of sculptures, paintings, tapestries, weapons, books, ceramics, furniture, miniatures and pieces of metalwork, mainly European and Oriental, from the 16th to the 20th centuries (the most important of its kind).
Among the almost 6000 objects of high value, the oil on canvas by El Greco, tapestries from the 16th century, a sculpture by Auguste Rodin and a bronze clock that was a gift stand out. wedding for Kings Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Regarding the conditions of the building ficio, the palace was restored as a house-museum, which not only houses valuable pieces of art and furniture from different eras, but also reveals the lifestyle of a patrician family at the beginning of the 20th century. During the eighteen years that the Errázuriz Alvears lived here, the house was the scene of receptions, concerts and charity balls (you can visit the large ballrooms with their original furniture), it was also a space of luxury and comfort.
The house recreates the most significant styles of decorative art and European decoration of the 18th and 19th centuries. It has a small room decorated in early Art Deco style by the Catalan artist José María Sert, four panels painted in oil stand out, one of them on a mirror. This room is the only one in the house with 20th century decoration.
The residence also has an impressive French-style garden which functions as an extension of the reception rooms and has a Fountain of the Swans in its central axis, surrounded by cut boxwood beds that evoke designs from the Palace of Versailles. One recommendation is that during your visit to the museum you check the agenda on its website because orchestras usually perform in this wonderful garden that the palace has. This type of event, such as admission to the museum, is free.
If you are interested in taking the guided tours, these are done every day with a maximum of 50 people per shift (1pm, 2 pm, 3.30 pm, 5 pm and 6 pm). The tour will be through rooms on the ground floor and outside garden.