Surrealism in Lisboa (Lisbonne 4)

novembre 12, 2017

Surrealism in Lisboa (Lisbonne 4)

As we arrived in Lisbon for Amadora BD, both Stanley Wany and I went in search of Portuguese surrealist artists. Spain gave us Picasso, Dali and Bunuel. Both Spain and Portugal were bathed in baroque Catholic imagery wich often leads to creating surrealism shrines (like the Mexicans have done in some of their churches).

As we walked up and down the streets of Lisbon, we saw and entered little shops full of Virgins (Mary). We went into a surrealist tiles store called Surrealejos. In a small corner street, we entered an old antique shop filled with a surrealist treasure trove of statues and exotic curiosities.

A wood sculpted Mary with cherubs and Jesus in an antique shop.

Cemiterio dos Prazeres

Concento do Carmo, La momie des 7 boules de crystal?

Convento do Carmo

We started with the Berardo museum where we saw some classic and beautiful works by some of the most famous surrealists artists (Man Ray, Max Ernst, Calder and Joseph Cornell). But local Portuguese artists were few and yet we know there must be some!!!

Man Ray

Joseph Cornell

De Chirico

Paul Delvaux

Wilfredo Lam

Matta

Max Ernst

Candido Portinari, a Brazilian painter

A more contemporary portuguese surrealist painting by Eduardo Luiz, 1967

The museum Berardo published a book on Raúl Perez, a real Portuguese surrealist. He born in Minho, in 1944, Perez held his first exhibition at the age of 28. Associated with the Portuguese surrealist movement, especially with Cruzeiro Seixas, Raúl Perez was able to both fit into this continuity and free himself from it.

Raúl Perez

We continued our quest for the surreal and went to the Musée Calouste-Gulbenkian. A beautiful museum surrounded by a lush garden. There we found some other Portuguese painters. Almost all were unknown to us. There were also surrealist publications from that time which would lead us to possibly one of the greatest surrealist painter of Portugal, Almada.

On my own, while on my way to visit the ruins of the Carmes convent, I happened to pass in front of The Bertrand bookshop, the oldest library in Lisbon. The place was old and arresting, with antique books displayed with artefacts, sculptures and miniatures. I took some photos with the owner's permission and asked him to shown me some books on surrealist Portuguese painter.

The Bertrand bookshop

The Bertrand bookshop, pages from a rare book on Almada

He pulled out a book worth 300 euros and told me this is the best surrealist Portuguese painter : José de Almada Negreiros. What I saw from the pages bowled me over. An artist of incredible dexterity and imagination. A master of black lines and color on the level of a Picasso! It made me realize that Portugal has incredible artists both in art and comics but, has a hard time exporting them outside of the country. In art and comics, we often hear more about Spanish or Italians artists than Portuguese ones! Yet, their work is as vital. I finally found an affordable book on Almada showcasing his mastery of many mediums.

Surrealist Portuguese publications

José Sobral de Almada Negreiros

José Sobral de Almada Negreiros (April 7, 1893 – June 15, 1970) was a Portuguese artist. He was born in the colony of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, the son of a Portuguese father, António Lobo de Almada Negreiros, and a Santomean mother, Elvira Freire Sobral. Besides literature and painting, Almada developed ballet choreographies, and worked on tapestry, engraving, murals, caricature, mosaic, azulejo and stained glass. (from wikipédia)

At Amadora BD, we were given a tour of the publishers and authors of comics in Portugal. All the books that seemed out of the ordinary, daring, experimental and gorgeously designed were not selling as much as they could. Diniz Conefrey's work particularly grabbed me. Nagual, a gorgeously drawn and designed book had a print run of 400 copies. That's not a lot! We discovered other artists, uncovering an amazing range of talents that made us want to find out more about the local scene. In a lot of those comix artists, I did find that peculiar surrealist Portuguese vide. A mix of modern visions interlaced with catholicism and spirituality.