Portuguese realists
With its essays and illustrations, the catalogue offers a detailed description of the interlocking of art and politics in Portugal from the 1930s through the 1970s. It contains much background information on the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar and the conditions of everyday censorship and oppression under which artists had to work. There was a preference for exhibitions focusing on popular and folk art or glorifying colonialism. Many artists were obliged “to keep certain pictures hidden under the bed,” as David Evans writes in his catalogue essay. In 1974, many artists were involved in the freedom movement: “In these times, it was difficult to stay in the studio; the artists sensed the presence of the people and the revolution everywhere, as the streets became a stage for things that had never been seen before.” The catalogue presents several artists including Virgilio Augusto Domingues, Marcelino Macedo Vespeira, and Bartolomeu Cid dos Santos with biographies and plates, as well as reprinting political manifestos and campaign materials.

Ed.: nGbK

Work group: Tom Fecht, Jürgen Holtfreter, Eckhard Siepmann, Ernst Volland, Herta Walter