In spite of his brief academic training, Mário Eloy's free self-taught spirit was always nurtured by his curiosity and inspired by his frequent visits to museums during his various stays in cities such as Madrid, Paris, or Berlin. His work spans from the most classic to the most experimental artistic expressions.

This Indian ink drawing, which Mário Eloy offered to the poet Carlos Queiroz, is part of a series created in 1930-35, as stated in the catalogue of the retrospective exhibition on the artist, held at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, in 1996. The line, loose and sharp, flows rapidly over the support, as if the nib had barely been lifted from the paper. Even so, and although reduced to the essential, the lines suggest both volume and transparency, as we can testimony on the crossed legs of the figure and on the way, we can see through them.

Inspired by the performing arts (being the grandson of actors and having himself experience in the performing arts, a lifetime passion of his), Mário Eloy introduces us to a stage persona. This character, sitting cross-legged and tiptoeing on the floor, gives his profile to the viewer. His back is perfectly erect, in an elegant posture that brings to mind a dancer or a 'musician poet' — as art historian Raquel Henriques da Silva has noted on this series of drawings. His right arm rests on his legs and his hand holds the mask that looks directly at us. In the background, as if hanging on a canvas (or maybe on a window over the sea?), a violin, suspended by its strings, appears to be hung — stressing a sense of drama in this composition.

EF