Alfredo Keil (Lisbon, 1850 - Hamburg, 1907) grew up in a family of German origins, whose economic status provided him with a privileged education. He started painting and music classes very early, publishing his first musical work (Pensée Musicale) when he was only twelve years old. In 1969 he embarked with his father on a trip through Europe, which allowed him to contact with different cultures and study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg. In 1870, when in Portugal, he also attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Lisbon. He presented himself as a painter at the age of eighteen at the 7th Exhibition of the Promoter of Fine Arts, and he also participated in the 9th Exhibition in 1972. From this moment onwards he would be an active presence in the Portuguese artistic scene, participating in numerous exhibitions, some of which earned him prizes, such as the Landscape Award from the Promoting Society (1874). In 1890 he held an exhibition of about 300 paintings in his studio at Avenida da Liberdade. Internationally he would also consolidate his success as a landscape painter, participating in exhibitions in Brazil, Spain and France. In these too he was awarded, highlighting the honorable mention he earned at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878. Despite the special prominence that landscape acquired in his work he practiced other genres, such as still life and genre scenes. Inspired by the fundamentals of Naturalism trending in Portugal, his work acquired outlines that would place it in Romanticism. After the English ultimatum of 1890 he composed his most famous musical work A Portuguesa, which would become the national hymn of Portugal in 1911. Keil also had other interests, such as photography - which he used as a means of support for painting -, archeology, ethnography, revealing himself as a great collector - with special appreciation for musical instruments - and writer, publishing several texts. He is represented in numerous national collections.
Francisca Morais Vaz
