Almada Negreiros

UNVEILING THE MURAL PAINTING ART OF ALMADA NEGREIROS (1938-1956)

TECHNICAL, MATERIAL AND DIAGNOSTIC SCIENTIFIC STUDY AS A GUIDE FOR ITS FUTURE CONSERVATION AND ENJOYMENT

MAIN AREA: Cultural Heritage - Artistic studies
CATEGORY: R&D FCT Project
PROJECT REF: PTDC/ART-HIS/1370/2020
START/END: 2021/2024

 

ALMADA’s project intends to study for the first time with imaging and analytical techniques the mural painting legacy of Almada Negreiros, one of the key figures of the avant-garde and modernism in Portugal. In the spotlight are the five nuclei of mural paintings commissioned in the city of Lisbon between 1938 and 1956, at Church of Nossa Srª do Rosário de Fatima, DN Building, Maritimes stations of Alcantâra e Rocha do Conde de Óbidos and High school EB Patricio Prazeres.

Three approaches are foreseen:
a) Art History and Technical Art History to place the murals in their historical and artistic context.
b) On-site surface examinations of the murals using conventional and advanced imaging techniques in the visible and the invisible light range;
c) Technical and material characterization, combining non-invasive in loco analysis with microscopic and advanced analytical laboratory techniques.

The objectives are to identify and characterize the pictorial techniques, plaster materials and paint layers, and determine their implications in the deterioration process which is essential for their future conservation.

This transdisciplinary project is a joint collaboration between HERCULES laboratory from University of Évora, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage (DGPC), Institute of Art History of the University Nova of Lisbon (IHA-FCSH/UNL) and the Lisbon Ports Administration (APL). The results obtained over the three years will be a vital step forward in the knowledge, valorization and preservation of Almada Negreiros mural painting art.

 

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

• HERCULES Laboratory of Évora University
• Direção Geral do Património Cultural – Instituto José de Figueiredo (IJF) e Departamento de Estudos, Obras e Fiscalização (DEPOF)
• Art History Institute of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (IHA-FCSH / UNL)
• Lisbon Port Administration (APL)

 

PROJECT TEAM