Artworks
Diligência no Terreiro do Paço (Estudo para pintura mural para os correios dos Restauradores) [Stagecoach at Terreiro do Paço (Study for mural painting for the Restauradores post office)]
other
Date
s.d.
Technique
Graphite and gouache on paper laid on platex
Dimensions
97 x 224 cm
After his stay in Madrid (1927-1932), José de Almada Negreiros returned to Portugal, finding a country where the contemporary art market was almost non-existent. In this context, many artists ensured their survival by carrying out graphic work in collaboration with the press and in advertising, work fields that were strongly driven by the propaganda machine of the - Estado Novo
(New State) from the 1930s onwards. An exponent of Portuguese modernism, with a great mastery of drawing, Almada developed an intense production in the area of graphic and visual arts during this period: he produced publicity work, collaborated with periodicals, designed stamps and posters, and collaborated in official advertisement. The recognition of his quality leads to several public and private invitations to develop art projects.
This panel is the study for a mural painting (already destroyed) commissioned for the renovation of the Praça do Comércio Post Office (1938-1940). Almada proposes a historical approach, evoking the time when communications and mail services were provided by mounted couriers or stagecoach systems that used horse-drawn carriages. The position of the observer corresponds to the place where the station is installed, on the western side of the square, with the statue of King José and the eastern arcade in the background, as well as the towers of the Lisbon Cathedral, which appear shyly to the left, and the river, which marks the boundary of the square.
The scene - the arrival of the stagecoach - has a dynamism conferred by the rhythmic marking of the columns and by the interaction of the characters. As it is a preparatory painting, Almada chooses to stylise the figures. However, one still can note some attention to detail, visible in the treatment of the clothes, the horses' harnesses and the carriage.
JB
(New State) from the 1930s onwards. An exponent of Portuguese modernism, with a great mastery of drawing, Almada developed an intense production in the area of graphic and visual arts during this period: he produced publicity work, collaborated with periodicals, designed stamps and posters, and collaborated in official advertisement. The recognition of his quality leads to several public and private invitations to develop art projects.
This panel is the study for a mural painting (already destroyed) commissioned for the renovation of the Praça do Comércio Post Office (1938-1940). Almada proposes a historical approach, evoking the time when communications and mail services were provided by mounted couriers or stagecoach systems that used horse-drawn carriages. The position of the observer corresponds to the place where the station is installed, on the western side of the square, with the statue of King José and the eastern arcade in the background, as well as the towers of the Lisbon Cathedral, which appear shyly to the left, and the river, which marks the boundary of the square.
The scene - the arrival of the stagecoach - has a dynamism conferred by the rhythmic marking of the columns and by the interaction of the characters. As it is a preparatory painting, Almada chooses to stylise the figures. However, one still can note some attention to detail, visible in the treatment of the clothes, the horses' harnesses and the carriage.
JB
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