The initial collections of the Museum were formed thanks to the donation of some pieces from the collection of Eduardo Santos, the purchase of the collections Pardo and Argáez and the collection of colonial art of the National History Museum. The artworks were initially exhibited in a first room dedicated to the painter Gregorio Vásquez and another to the exhibition of the collection purchased from Pablo Argáez. Other rooms exhibited silverware, domestic and ecclesiastical furniture, painting and devotional sculpture and viceroyal portraits.

During the first decade of the 21st century, the Colonial Museum entered a process of transformation that seeks to communicate to the visiting public the cultural processes that took place between the 16th and 18th centuries. In this context, there has been a museological renovation that encompasses both its administrative organization and new curatorial and museographic approaches, which make visible the memory of colonialism in Colombia. Currently the museum is closed to the public for preparation for the structural renovation of the Cloister and the construction of the museum's new curatorial and museographic script.

Museo de Arte Colonial

Exhibitions & Events