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''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
painted tin-glazed
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
work. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
es, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, restaurants, bars and even
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s or subway stations. They are an ornamental art form, but also had a specific functional capacity like
temperature control Temperature control is a process in which change of temperature of a space (and objects collectively there within), or of a substance, is measured or otherwise detected, and the passage of heat energy into or out of the space or substance is ad ...
in homes. There is also a tradition of their production in former
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
colonies in North America,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
, the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
,
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
(India),
Lusophone Africa The Portuguese-speaking African countries ( pt, Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa; PALOP), also known as Lusophone Africa, consist of six African countries in which the Portuguese language is an official language: Angola, Cape Ve ...
,
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
, and
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
(China). ''Azulejos'' constitute a major aspect of
Spanish architecture Spanish architecture refers to architecture in any area of what is now Spain, and by Spanish architects worldwide. The term includes buildings which were constructed within the current borders of Spain prior to its existence as a nation, when ...
and
Portuguese architecture Portuguese architecture refers to both the architecture of Portugal's modern-day territory in Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, as well as the architectural heritage/patrimony of Portuguese architects and styles throughout the world, p ...
to this day and are fixtures of buildings across Spain and Portugal and its former territories. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Portuguese history The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provinc ...
.


History


13th to 15th century

The word ''azulejo'' (as well as the Ligurian ''laggion'') is derived from the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
(''al-zillīj''):
zellij ''Zellij'' ( ar, الزليج, translit=zillīj; also spelled zillij or zellige) is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various pa ...
, meaning "polished stone" because the original idea was to imitate the Byzantine and Roman mosaics. This origin shows the unmistakable Arab influences in many tiles: interlocking curvilinear, geometric or floral motifs. The craft of ''zellige'' is still in use in the Arab world in two main traditions the "Egyptian Zalij" and the "Moroccan Zellige", the latter being the most famous. The Spanish city of
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
became the major centre of the
Hispano-Moresque Hispano-Moresque ware is a style of initially Islamic pottery created in Al-Andalus, which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles blending Islamic and European elements. It was the most elaborate and luxurious pottery being pr ...
tile industry. The earliest ''azulejos'' in the 13th century were ''alicatados'' (panels of tile-mosaic). Tiles were glazed in a single colour, cut into geometric shapes, and assembled to form geometric patterns. Many examples can be admired in the Alhambra of Granada. The old techniques of ''
cuerda seca The term "cuerda" (Spanish for ''rope'') refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: * Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...
after a visit to Seville in 1503. They were applied on walls and used for paving floors, such as can be seen in several rooms, and especially the Arab Room of the
Sintra National Palace The Palace of Sintra ( pt, Palácio Nacional de Sintra), also called Town Palace (''Palácio da Vila''), is located in the town of Sintra, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It is a present-day historic house museum. It is the best-preserved m ...
(including the famous ''cuenca'' tiles with the armillary sphere, symbol of king Manuel I). The Portuguese adopted the Moorish tradition of '' horror vacui'' ('fear of empty spaces') and covered the walls completely with ''azulejos''. File:Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, Granada. Elementos decorativos.jpg, (Moorish) Azulejos (ca. 13th century) of the Qubba of Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, Granada. File:Alhambra-p3-wall.jpg, (Moorish) ''Alicatado'' in the Alhambra, ''circa'' 1350, Granada File:Capilla Mudéjar de San Bartolomé in der Calle Averroes, Córdoba - panoramio.jpg, (Christian) Capilla de San Bartolomé (ca. 1410), Córdoba File:Section of a tile floor with coat of arms.jpg, (Christian) ''Alfardones'' », ''circa'' 1420,
Manises Manises (, ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Oest in the Valencian Community, Spain. Located in the province of Valencia, it had 30,693 inhabitants in 2018 (NSI) and is famous for its pottery and being the location of Valencia Airp ...
, Spain File:Palacio Sintra azulejo5.JPG, (Christian) Azulejos of the 15th century of the
Sintra National Palace The Palace of Sintra ( pt, Palácio Nacional de Sintra), also called Town Palace (''Palácio da Vila''), is located in the town of Sintra, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It is a present-day historic house museum. It is the best-preserved m ...
, Portugal File:Alcazar Segovia 200846.JPG, (Christian) Tiles in Alcázar of Segovia


16th century

Potters from Italy came into Seville in the early 16th century and established workshops there. They brought with them the ''
maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. Italian maiolica dating from the Renaissance period is the most renowned. When depicting historical and mythical scenes, these works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ...
'' techniques which allowed the artists to represent a much larger number of figurative themes in their compositions. The first Italian potter to move into Spain was
Francisco Niculoso Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
who settled in Seville in 1498. Examples of his work can still be admired ''in situ'' in the Alcazar of Seville. Under the influence of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
style introduced by Italians artists, most azulejos were polychrome tile panels depicting allegorical or mythological scenes, scenes from the lives of saints or
the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, or hunting scenes. Mannerism and the
grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
style, with its bizarre representations, had much influence on azulejos. Until the mid-16th century the Portuguese continued to rely on foreign imports, mostly from Spain, such as the ''Annunciation'' by Francisco Niculoso in
Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...
, but also on a smaller scale from Antwerp (Flanders), such as the two panels by
Jan Bogaerts Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...
in the Paço Ducal of
Vila Viçosa Vila Viçosa () is a town and a municipality in the District of Évora, Alentejo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,319, in an area of 194.86 km². The municipal holiday is August 16. Parishes Administratively, the municipality is ...
(Alentejo). One of the early Portuguese masters of the 16th century was
Marçal de Matos Marçal may refer to: * Guilhermina Marçal, a Roman Catholic Canossian sister * Maria Mercè Marçal (1952–1998), a Spanish poet, professor, writer and translator * Nuno Marçal (born 1975), a Portuguese basketball player * Pedro Marçal (bor ...
, to whom ''Susanna and the Elders'' (1565), in
Quinta da Bacalhoa Quinta may refer to: * Quinta (estate) in Portugal * Quinta (musician), British multi-instrumentalist * In medieval music theory, alternative term for diapente (perfect fifth) * ''Quinta'' (skipper), genus of butterflies * Claudia Quinta, Roman ma ...
, Azeitão, is attributed, as well as the ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' (in the National Museum of Azulejos in Lisbon). The ''Miracle of St. Roque'' (in the Church of S. Roque, Lisbon) is the first dated Portuguese ''azulejo'' composition (1584). It is the work of
Francisco de Matos Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
, probably the nephew and pupil of Marçal de Matos. Both drew their inspiration from
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
and
Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...
paintings and
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
s from Italy and Flanders. A fine collection of 16th-century azulejos (''azulejos Hispano-mouriscos'') can be found in the Museu da Rainha D. Leonor in Beja, Portugal (the former ''Convento da Conceição''). In the late 16th century, ''checkered'' azulejos were used as decoration for large surfaces, such as in churches and monasteries. Diagonally placed plain white tiles were surrounded by blue square ones and narrow border tiles. File:Niculoso Alcazar Seville.jpg, Chapel of the Alcázar of Seville (Spain) covered with tin-glazed tiles painted in 1504 by the Pisan Francesco Niculoso. File:Sevilla-4-9 (48040450686).jpg,
Casa de Pilatos La Casa de Pilatos (Pilate's House) is an Andalusian palace in Seville, Spain, which serves as the permanent residence of the Dukes of Medinaceli. It is an example of an Italian Renaissance building with Mudéjar elements and decorations. It is con ...
in Seville has around 150 different azulejo designs of the 1530s, one of the largest antique collections in the world File:Azulejo Loaysa panel ni.jpg, Panel of Hernando de Loaysa, around 1590,
Palacio de Fabio Nelli The Palacio de Fabio Nelli is, according to the critics and historians, the Renaissance architecture, Renaissance building of the most important classical period of the city of Valladolid (Castile and León, Spain). According to the architect Anton ...
,
Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
, Spain. File:Valladolid convento santaisabel azulejo siglo XVI by lou.jpg, 16th-century azulejos in Convent of Santa Isabel, Valladolid File:TalaveraDeLaReina Azulejos.jpg, Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Prado,
Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in the ...
, Spain. File:Patriarca taulells.jpg,
Real Colegio Seminario del Corpus Christi The Real Colegio Seminario del Corpus Christi (Royal College and Seminary of Corpus Christi) is a former Roman Catholic school and seminary founded in 1583 in the Spanish city of Valencia. It is located in calle de la Nau in the old city, opposite ...
,
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, Spain. File:Mare de Déu com a emblema del braç eclesiàstic, sòcol ceràmic de la sala Nova del palau de la Generalitat Valenciana.JPG, Azulejos made by Hernando de Santiago and Juan de Víllalba in 1575 in Sala Nova, Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia. File:AzulejoMonasterioToledo.JPG, Azulejo of the Santa Cruz Hospital in Toledo, Spain. File:Wall with azulejos - Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija.JPG, Azulejos of the Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija (ca. 1585), Seville File:Azulejo-Museum1.jpg, Altarpiece of Our Lady of Life, painted in 1580 by Marçal de Matos,
National Museum of the Azulejo The Museu Nacional do Azulejo (Portuguese for National Museum of the Azulejo), occasionally known in English as the National Tile Museum, is an art museum in Lisbon, Portugal dedicated to the azulejo, traditional tilework of Portugal and the fo ...
, Lisbon.


17th century

Shortly afterwards, these plain white tiles were replaced by polychrome tiles (''enxaquetado rico'') often giving a complex framework such as in the Igreja de Santa Maria de Marvila in
Santarém, Portugal Santarém () is a city and municipality located in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 58 671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the municipality of Santarém to Golegã in 2013 in an area of 552.54&n ...
with one of the most outstanding tile-based interior decorations in Portugal. When the diagonal tiles were replaced by a repetitive pattern of horizontal polychrome tiles, one could obtain a new design with different motifs, interlacing Mannerist drawings with representations of roses and camellias (sometimes roses and
garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...
s). An inset votive usually depicts a scene from the life of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
or a saint. These carpet compositions (''azulejo de tapete''), as they were called, elaborately framed with
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
s and borders, were produced in great numbers during the 17th century. The best examples are to be found in the Igreja do Salvador,
Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...
, Igreja de S. Quintino, Obral de Monte Agraço, Igreja de S. Vicente, Cuba (Portugal) and the university chapel in
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
. The use of ''azulejos'' for the decoration of
antependia An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'' "to hang before"; pl: ''antependia''), also known as a ''parament'' or ''hanging'', or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium altaris ...
(front of an
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
), imitating precious altar cloths, is typical for Portugal. The panel may be in one piece, or composed of two or three sections. They were used in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Some antependia of the 17th century imitate oriental fabrics (
calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
,
chintz Chintz () is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century. The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colour ...
). The golden fringes of the altar cloth were imitated by yellow motifs on the painted border tiles. Excellent examples can be found in the
Hospital de Santa Marta Hospital de Santa Marta (, "Saint Martha's Hospital") is a public Healthcare in Portugal#Hospitals, Central Hospital serving the Grande Lisboa, Greater Lisbon area as part of the Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Central Lisbon Un ...
, Lisbon, or in the Convent of Santa Maria de Almoster and the
Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco is a former Carmelite monastery in the Mata Nacional do Buçaco ( Buçaco Forest) protected forest of the Serra do Buçaco, Portugal. It was constructed in 1628. It closed in 1834 following the suppression of male ...
. During the same period another motif in
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
s was introduced: floral vases flanked by birds, dolphins or
putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...
, the so-called ''albarradas''. They were probably inspired by Flemish paintings of flower vases, such as by
Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collabora ...
. These were still free-standing in the 17th century, but they would be used in repetitive modules in the 18th century. Azulejos dating from 1642 are in the Basilica and Convent de San Francisco de Lima, Peru.) Another type of azulejo composition, called ''aves e ramagens'' ('birds and branches'), came into vogue between 1650 and 1680. They were influenced by the representations on printed textiles that were imported from India:
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
symbols, flowers, animals and birds. In the second half of the 17th century, the Spanish artist Gabriel del Barco y Minusca introduced into Portugal the blue-and-white tiles from Delft in the Netherlands. The workshops of Jan van Oort and
Willem van der Kloet Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, Gu ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
created large tile panels with historical scenes for their rich Portuguese clients, such as for the Palace of the Marqueses da Fronteira in Benfica, Lisbon. But when King Peter II stopped all imports of ''azulejos'' between 1687 and 1698, the workshop of Gabriel del Barco took over the production. The last major production from Holland was delivered in 1715. Soon large, home-made blue-and-white figurative tiles, designed by academically trained Portuguese artists, became the dominant fashion, superseding the former taste for repeated patterns and abstract decoration. Image:Beja26.jpg, Carpet-style decoration
Museu da Rainha D. Leonor; Beja, Portugal Image:Sagres07.jpg, Antependium decorated with azulejos
Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça; Sagres, Portugal Image:В саду Дворца Фронтейра (11609800903).jpg, Kings Gallery fountain, Palace of the Marquess of Fronteira, Lisbon, Portugal File:Lisbon Travel 2011 (5900363958).jpg, Palace of the Marquess of Fronteira, Lisbon. File:Santas Justa y Rufina.jpg, '' Saints Justa and Rufina'', ca. 1600,
Museum of Fine Arts of Seville The Museum of Fine Arts of Seville ( es, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla) is a museum in Seville, Spain, a collection of mainly Spanish visual arts from the medieval period to the early 20th century, including a choice selection of works by arti ...
File:Santo Domingo Lima, Kacheln aus Sevilla.jpg, Detail of the azulejos (ca. 1606) at the
Basilica of Santo Domingo, Lima The Basilica and Maximus Convent of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, popularly known as the Convent of Santo Domingo (or Convent of the Holy Rosary), is a Catholic religious complex located in the city of Lima, Peru. It was created in the 1530s under ...
, Peru File:Capilla del Rosario 07.jpg, Azulejos inside the Chapel of the Rosario (1531-1690),
Puebla City Puebla de Zaragoza (; nah, Cuetlaxcoapan), formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, formerly Puebla de los Ángeles during colonial times, or known in English simply as Puebla, is the seat of Puebla Municipality. It is the capital and largest city ...
, Mexico


18th century

The late 17th and early 18th centuries became the 'Golden Age of the Azulejo', the so-called Cycle of the Masters (''Ciclo dos Mestres''). Mass production was started not just because of a greater internal demand, but also because of large orders came in from the Portuguese
colony of Brazil Colonial Brazil ( pt, Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Dur ...
. Large one-off orders were replaced by the less expensive use of repetitive tile patterns. Churches, monasteries, palaces and even houses were covered inside and outside with ''azulejos'', many with exuberant Baroque elements. The most prominent master-designers in these early years of the 18th century were:
António Pereira (artist) Antonio Pereira may refer to: * António Pereira (racewalker), Portuguese race walker * Antônio Pereira, Brazilian football referee *António Garcia Pereira António Pestana Garcia Pereira is a Portuguese lawyer and politician, former leader of ...
, Manuel dos Santos, the workshop of
António de Oliveira Bernardes Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
and his son Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes; the
Master PMP Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
(only known by his monogram) and his collaborators Teotónio dos Santos and
Valentim de Almeida Valentim is both a Portuguese surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Evangelino Valentim (born 1984), Nigerian footballer * Valentim (footballer) (born 1977), full name Francisco de Assis Clarentino Valentim, Braz ...
;
Bartolomeu Antunes Bartolomeu is a given name of Portuguese, Galician or Romanian origin. It is a cognate of Bartholomew. Notable people with this name include: * Bartolomeu Anania – a Romanian Orthodox monk who was the Metropolitan of Cluj (1993–2011) * Bart ...
and his pupil Nicolau de Freitas. As their production coincided with the reign of King
João V Dom John V ( pt, João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 17 ...
(1706–1750), the style of this period is also called the Joanine style. During this same period appear the first 'invitation figures' (''figura de convite''), invented by the Master PMP and produced in the 18th and 19th centuries. These are cut-out panels of ''azulejos'' with life-size figures (footmen,
halberdier A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...
s, noblemen or elegantly dressed ladies), usually placed in entrances of palaces (see Palácio da Mitra), patios and stair landings. Their purpose was to welcome visitors. They can only be found in Portugal. In the 1740s the taste of Portuguese society changed from the monumental narrative panels to smaller and more delicately executed panels in
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style. These panels depict gallant and pastoral themes as they occur in the works of the French painter
Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...
. Fine examples are the façade and the gardens of the Palace of the Dukes de Mesquitela in Carnide ( Lisbon) and the ' in the
Queluz National Palace The Palace of Queluz ( pt, Palácio de Queluz, ) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europ ...
. The mass-produced tiles acquired a more stereotypic design with predominant polychrome irregular shell motifs. The reconstruction of Lisbon after the great earthquake of 1755 gave rise to a more utilitarian role for decoration with ''azulejos''. This bare and functional style would become known as the
Pombaline style The Pombaline style was a Portuguese architectural style of the 18th century, named after Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the first Marquês de Pombal, who was instrumental in reconstructing Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755. Pombal super ...
, named after the
Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roy ...
, who was put in charge of rebuilding the country. Small devotional ''azulejo'' panels started to appear on buildings as protection against future disasters. In
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, a large producer of Talavera—a Mexican maiolica, there are several instances of the use of azulejos on buildings and mansions. One particular mansion, the
Casa de los Azulejos The Casa de los Azulejos ("House of Tiles") or Palacio de los Condes del Valle de Orizaba (Palace of the Counts of Valley of Orizaba) is an 18th-century Baroque palace in Mexico City, built by the Count of the Valle de Orizaba family. The buildi ...
in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
, was built in 1737 for the Count and Countess of El Valle de Orizaba. Ceramic making traditions were imported to Mexico in the early 16th century and have flourished. As a reaction, simpler and more delicate Neoclassical designs started to appear with more subdued colours. These themes were introduced in Portugal by the engravings of Robert and James Adams. The ''Real Fábrica de Louça do Rato'', with the master-designer Sebastião Inácio de Almeida and the painter Francisco de Paula e Oliveira, became in this period an important manufacturer of the characteristic so-called ''Rato''-tiles. Another important tile painter in this period was Francisco Jorge da Costa. With great Portuguese influence, the city of São Luís, in
Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
, in Brazil, preserves the largest urban agglomeration of azulejos from the 18th and 19th centuries, throughout Latin America. In 1997, the Historic Center of São Luís was declared a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. São Luís is also known as "Cidade dos Azulejos". File:Sintra L1190119 (25141013871).jpg, Azulejos of the walls of Sala dos Brasões (ca. 18th century),
Sintra National Palace The Palace of Sintra ( pt, Palácio Nacional de Sintra), also called Town Palace (''Palácio da Vila''), is located in the town of Sintra, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It is a present-day historic house museum. It is the best-preserved m ...
, Portugal Image:Palacio Queluz Corredor Mangas2.JPG, Azulejos in Rococo-style in the
Palace of Queluz The Palace of Queluz ( pt, Palácio de Queluz, ) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europ ...
, Portugal. Image:Porto.Cathedral17.jpg, Albarrada, flower vase by Valentim de Almeida (between 1729 and 1731); Cathedral of Porto, Portugal. Image:Nazaré06.jpg, Azulejos by Willem van der Kloet (1708) in the transept of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré; Nazaré, Portugal. File:Cathédrale Santa Maria Maior de Lisbonne avant 1755.jpg, Azulejos of the Lisbon Cathedral, ca. 1755. Image:Óbidos - Varanda (5414515924).jpg, Azulejos vault in Óbidos, Portugal. Image:IgrejaMatrizCambra.jpg, Checkered azulejos on the façade of the Igreja Matriz de Cambra,
Vouzela Vouzela () is a municipality in the district Viseu in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 10,564, in an area of 193.69 km2. The present mayor is Rui Ladeira, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The municipal holiday is May 14. Parishes ...
, Portugal File:Lisboa, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, refeitório, azulejos (2).jpg, Azulejos (ca. 1785) of refrectory of
Jerónimos Monastery The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery ( pt, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, ) is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the necropolis ...
, Lisbon File:Alcobaça - Mosteiro de Alcobaça 10 (22994623339).jpg, Azulejos (ca. 18th century) of the
Alcobaça Monastery The Alcobaça Monastery ( pt, Mosteiro de Alcobaça, ''Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça'') is a Catholic monastic complex located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal, some 120 km north of Lisbon. The monastery was established ...
File:Igreja da Misericórdia de Tavira - Azulejos.jpg, Azulejos (ca. 1760) of Igreja da Misericórdia,
Tavira Tavira () is a Portuguese town and municipality, capital of the ''Costa do Acantilado'', situated in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is east of Faro and west of Huelva across the river Guadiana into Spain. The Gilã ...
, Portugal File:Gandía (23980380357).jpg, Galería Dorada (c. early-18th century),
Ducal Palace of Gandia The Ducal Palace of Gandia was, from the 14th century, the residence of the Royal Dukes of Gandía, and from 1485, the Borja family. It was the birthplace of Saint Francis Borja. The oldest part of the building dates from the 15th century in Va ...
,
Gandia Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can acc ...
, Spain Image:Azulejos-bahia2.jpg, Convent of Saint-Francis, 1702,
Salvador de Bahia Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. File:Casa de Azulejos 3.jpg,
Casa de los Azulejos The Casa de los Azulejos ("House of Tiles") or Palacio de los Condes del Valle de Orizaba (Palace of the Counts of Valley of Orizaba) is an 18th-century Baroque palace in Mexico City, built by the Count of the Valle de Orizaba family. The buildi ...
palace, ca. 1737,
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. File:Vista de la Fachada del Templo de San Francisco Acatepec 9.jpg, Azulejos of the facade made between 1650 and 1750 with
Talavera pottery Talavera pottery (Spanish: Talavera poblana) is a Mexican and Spanish pottery tradition from Talavera de la Reina, in Spain. The Mexican pottery is a type of majolica ( faience) or tin-glazed earthenware, with a white base glaze typical of the ...
.
Church of San Francisco Acatepec Church of San Francisco Acatepec is a colonial religious building, characteristic of the Mexican Baroque architecture, especially recognized for its facade of Talavera mosaics combined with red brick. It is located in the town of San Francisco ...
in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico.


19th century

In the first half of the 19th century, there was a stagnation in the production of decorative tiles, owing first to the incursion of the Napoleonic army and later to social and economic changes. When around 1840 immigrant Brazilians started an industrialized production in
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, the Portuguese took over the Brazilian fashion of decorating the façades of their houses with ''azulejos''. While these factories produces high-relief tiles in one or two colours, the Lisbon factories started using another method: the transfer-print method on blue-and-white or polychrome ''azulejos''. In the last decades of the 19th century, the Lisbon factories started to use another type of transfer-printing: using
creamware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 17 ...
blanks. While these industrialized methods produced simple, stylized designs, the art of hand-painting tiles was not dead, as applied by
Manuel Joaquim de Jesus Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...
and especially
Luís Ferreira Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
. Luis Ferreira was the director of the Lisbon factory Viúva Lamego and covered the whole façade of this factory with allegorical scenes. He produced panels, known as ''Ferreira das Tabuletas'', with flower vases, trees, and allegorical figures, applying the
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
technique. These hand-painted panels are fine examples of the eclectic Romantic culture of the late 19th century. Mid-19th century, in England, in addition to encaustic tiles and mosaics, the Mintons factory also produced azulejos. Image:PortoTrainStation2.jpg, Azulejo panel in the
São Bento railway station São Bento Railway Station ( pt, estação ferroviária de São Bento) is a 20th-century railway terminal in the civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality of Porto, district of Porto. ...
in
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, Portugal. Image:Parede da Estação de São Bento.jpg, Interior of the train station,
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, Portugal Image:Fachada de azulejos - Lisboa.jpg, Façade of the Casa do Ferreira das Tabuletas in Lisbon. Image:AzulejoPalácioHoteldoBuçaco2.jpg, Azulejos at
Buçaco Palace The Buçaco Palace is a former convent that today houses a luxury hotel located in the Buçaco mountain range, in the municipality of Mealhada, in central Portugal.José Mattoso História de Portugal - Volume 5 1993 - Page 678 "Palace Hotel do ...
, in Mealhada, Portugal. Image:Aveiro Azulejo.jpg, Façade of a grand house in Aveiro, Portugal. File:Talavera de la Reina - Jardines del Prado 22.jpg, Jardines del Prado garden in
Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in the ...
, Spain. Built in 1864. File:FacadeUriartePuebla.JPG,
Uriarte Talavera Uriarte Talavera is a traditional Talavera enterprise in the city of Puebla, Mexico, which has been in existence since 1824. It was begun as a family workshop by Dimas Uriarte, but today it is run by a business group. However, the enterprise stil ...
, ca. 1824, Puebla, Mexico File:Intérieur_de_la_cathédrale_de_São_Tomé_(10).jpg, Inside the Grace Cathedral,
São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álvar ...
File:Streets_of_Macau_(6993777227).jpg, Portuguese Azulejos in
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
File:A ship with port arriving in Newfoundland in 1892 (27561193516).jpg, Portuguese Azulejo depicting the arrival of a ship with
Port wine Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often ...
cargo in St. John's, Canada, 1892


20th century

At the start of the 20th century, Art Nouveau azulejos started to appear from artists such as
Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (21 March 1846 – 23 January 1905; spelled Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro in older Portuguese orthography) was a Portuguese artist known for his illustration, caricatures, sculpture, and ceramics designs. Bordalo Pinheiro ...
,
Júlio César da Silva Júlio is a Portuguese masculine given name. The equivalent in Spanish is Julio. The diminutive form is Julinho, as in Júlio César Teixeira known as Julinho, a Brazilian footballer. See also * Julio (disambiguation) *Julio (given name) *Julio ...
and
José António Jorge Pinto José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
. In 1885 Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro founded a
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
s factory in
Caldas da Rainha Caldas da Rainha () is a medium-sized Portuguese city in the Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura, and in the district of Leiria. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and of the Comunidad ...
, where he created many of the pottery designs for which this city is known. In this factory he has his own a museum São Rafael devoted to his fantastically imaginative work, especially the decorative plates and his satirical stone figures, such as the ''Zé Povinho'' (a representation of the worrying common man). Around the 1930s,
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
-azulejos made their appearance with their principal artist António Costa. The monumental decorations, consisting of 20,000 azulejos, in the vestibule of the
São Bento railway station São Bento Railway Station ( pt, estação ferroviária de São Bento) is a 20th-century railway terminal in the civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, in the municipality of Porto, district of Porto. ...
in Porto, created by Jorge Colaço, show in its historical themes the narrative style of the romantic 'picture-postcard'. This one of the most notable creations with ''azulejos'' of the 20th century. The façades of the churches of Santo Ildefonso and Congregados equally attest to the artistic mastery of Jorge Colaço. Other artists from this period include Mário Branco and
Silvestre Silvestri Silvestre is a Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese given name or surname, or a French language, French surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Cindy Silvestre (born 1993), a French kickboxer *Franck Silves ...
, who decorated in 1912 the lateral façade of the Carmo Church, and
Eduardo Leite Eduardo Figueiredo Cavalheiro Leite (born 10 March 1985) is a Brazilian politician and governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. During the state's 2018 election, he won with 53.62% of the vote. Leite was elected governor at 33 years old, b ...
for his work on the Almas Chapel (imitating the style of the 18th century), both in Porto. 20th-century artists include
Jorge Barradas Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος ('' Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...
,
Carlos Botelho Carlos Botelho (18 September 1899, in Lisbon – 18 August 1982, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese painter, illustrator, comics artist, political cartoonist, satirist and caricaturist, whose works are shown at the Chiado Museum and at the ...
,
Jorge Martins Jorge Manuel Martins da Silva (born 12 August 1954), known as Martins, is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Football career Martins was born in Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setúbal District. During his professional career, wh ...
, Sá Nogueira,
Menez Menez or ''Ménez'' is a surname, and may refer to; Menez means mount or mountain in Breton. * Maria Inês Ribeiro da Fonseca a.k.a. Menez - Portuguese painter * Jérémy Ménez - French international footballer * André Menez - French biologis ...
and
Paula Rego Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game '' EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a s ...
.
Maria Keil Maria Keil (9 August 1914 – 10 June 2012) was a Portuguese visual artist. She was born in Silves and died in Lisbon. Maria Keil produced a vast and diversified work that includes painting, drawing and illustration, azulejo, graphic and furni ...
designed the large abstract panels in the initial nineteen stations of the Lisbon Underground (between 1957 and 1972). Through these works she became a driving force in the revival and the updating of the art of the ''azulejo'', which had gone in some decline. Her decorations of the station ''Intendente'' is considered a masterpiece of contemporary tile art. The
Museu Nacional do Azulejo The Museu Nacional do Azulejo (Portuguese for National Museum of the Azulejo), occasionally known in English as the National Tile Museum, is an art museum in Lisbon, Portugal dedicated to the azulejo, traditional tilework of Portugal and the fo ...
in Lisbon houses the largest collection of Portuguese tiles in the world. File:Goelbench06390140.JPG,
Park Güell Parc Güell ( ca, Parc Güell ; es, Parque Güell) is a privatized park system composed of gardens and architectural elements located on Carmel Hill, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Carmel Hill belongs to the mountain range of Collserola – t ...
, Barcelona, of 1914. File:Patos 19.jpg, One of the several tiled benches of the Plaza 25 de Julio built in 1917, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands File:Font de Santa Anna, detall.jpg, Azulejos made in 1918 in
Font de Santa Anna In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a " sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mo ...
, Barcelona Image:Azulejos Parque Eduardo VII-2.jpg, Panel by Jorge Colaço (circa 1922) depicting an episode from the battle of Aljubarrota (1385) between the Portuguese and Castilian armies, Lisbon,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. File:ABC BLANCO Y NEGRO (2).jpg, ABC Serrano Building built by Aníbal González in 1926, Madrid File:PlazaEspanaBancos.jpg,
Plaza de España, Seville The Plaza de España ("Spain Square", in English) is a plaza in the Parque de María Luisa (''Maria Luisa Park''), in Seville, Spain. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is a landmark example of Regionalism Architec ...
, of 1928. File:Capela das Almas (Porto).jpg, Capela de Santa Catarina, Porto; façade was covered in 1929. File:Panel, Ermera, Timor-Leste - panoramio.jpg, Portuguese Azulejos depicting the image of Our Lady of Fátima,
Ermera Ermera (''Vila Ermera'') is a city in East Timor and a former capital of the East Timorese community, Ermera. ''Ermera'' in Mambai means "red water." It has a population of 8,907. Its geographical coordinates are , and it lies above sea ...
,
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
. Image:Covilha-CCBY.jpg, Santa Maria Church in
Covilhã Covilhã () is a city and a municipality in the Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 34,772 inhabitants in 2001. The municipality population in 2011 was 51,797, in an area of . It is located in the Beiras e Serra da Estrela subregion and ...
; façade was covered in the 1940s. Image:Art Noveau.jpg, Art Nouveau azulejos on a shop in Porto. Image:Azulejo Moderno - Iglesia de San Juan Bautista de Chiva - Valencia.jpg, Iglesia de San Juan Bautista de Chiva, Valencia. Image:Adding some blue to my collection azulejos.jpg, Portuguese Azulejos, at the Instituto Menezes Bragança, in the former Portuguese colony in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
. File:Fonteparcduportugal.JPG, Azulejos in Parc du Portugal, made in 1956, Little Portugal,
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Canada File:Embaixada_de_Portugal_em_Bissau_03.jpg, Portuguese Azulejos in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau Image:Recreation_Park_bandshell.jpg, Californian Azulejos, at one of the
Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...
Historic Landmarks,
Recreation Park bandshell Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
, US Image:Lady of Fatima tiles.jpg, Luso-American Azulejos depicts an image of Our Lady of Fátima, in
The Ironbound The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering approximately of well maintained streets and homes. Historically, the area was cal ...
, Newark, United States Image:Porto40.JPG, 21st-century azulejos (
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
)


Lisbon Metro

Azulejo tiles are present in almost every station in the
Lisbon Metro The Lisbon Metro ( pt, Metropolitano de Lisboa) is the rapid transit system in Lisbon, Portugal. Opened in December 1959, it was the first metro system in Portugal. , the system's four lines total of route and serve 56 stations. History In ...
system. Initially, painter
Maria Keil Maria Keil (9 August 1914 – 10 June 2012) was a Portuguese visual artist. She was born in Silves and died in Lisbon. Maria Keil produced a vast and diversified work that includes painting, drawing and illustration, azulejo, graphic and furni ...
(1914–2012), wife of metro system architect
Francisco Keil do Amaral Francisco Caetano Keil Coelho do Amaral, 2nd Viscount of Pedralva (Lisbon, 28 April 1910 – Lisbon, 19 February 1975), was a Portuguese architect, painter and photographer. His name was given to a street in Lisbon. Keil do Amaral stood out ...
(1910–1975) created the works for the Metro stations. A new expansion, completed in 1988, featured works by more contemporary Portuguese artists: Rolando de Sá Nogueira in Laranjeiras,
Júlio Pomar Júlio Artur da Silva Pomar, GOL, GCM (10 January 1926 – 22 May 2018) was a Portuguese painter and visual artist. He was often considered the greatest Portuguese painter of his generation. Early life and career (1940s and 1950s) Pomar first ...
in Alto dos Moinhos,
Manuel Cargaleiro Manuel Cargaleiro, (born 1927 in Vila Velha de Ródão), is a Portuguese artist who creates ceramic and painting. Cargaleiro learned as an autodidact. He produced earthenware squares, the Portuguese Azulejo, an art that still has its importance i ...
in Colégio Militar/Luz, and
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (13 June 1908 – 6 March 1992) was a Portuguese abstract painter. She was considered a leading member of the European abstract expressionism movement known as Art Informel. Her works feature complex interiors and ...
in Cidade Universitária. Following on from this, many artists have been commissioned to decorate new and refurbished stations.


Pieces


Traditions

* Hispano-Moresque ware (Spanish) *
Talavera de la Reina pottery Talavera de la Reina pottery is a traditional type of faience, or tin-glazed earthenware made in Talavera de la Reina, Toledo (Spain). The area has a long history of pottery, and dishes, jars, ceramics and other objects have been found in recen ...
(Spanish) *Manises pottery (Spanish) *Paterna pottery (Spanish) *
Talavera pottery Talavera pottery (Spanish: Talavera poblana) is a Mexican and Spanish pottery tradition from Talavera de la Reina, in Spain. The Mexican pottery is a type of majolica ( faience) or tin-glazed earthenware, with a white base glaze typical of the ...
(Mexican) *
Uriarte Talavera Uriarte Talavera is a traditional Talavera enterprise in the city of Puebla, Mexico, which has been in existence since 1824. It was begun as a family workshop by Dimas Uriarte, but today it is run by a business group. However, the enterprise stil ...
(Mexican) *El Puente del Arzobispo pottery (Spanish)


State of protection

Tiles are vulnerable to vandalism, neglect and theft due to their prevalence and relative ease of access in historic and often decaying buildings across Portugal. In Lisbon, tiles can sometimes be found for sale in street fairs and the black market, despite recent efforts to raise awareness among buyers, that are mainly foreign tourists. Since 2013 it is forbidden to demolish buildings with tile-covered façades. The highest number of thefts occurs in the capital, Lisbon, and authorities estimate that 25% of artistic tiles in that city was lost between 1980 and 2000. The main azulejo protection group in Portugal, SOS Azulejo, created in 2007 and working as a dependency of Polícia Judiciária, has identified the limitation and control of the sale of ancient tiles in those markets as their main goal. The city of Lisbon has created the 'Banco do Azulejo' (''tile bank''), which collects and stores around 30 thousand tiles from demolished or condemned buildings and from donations. Similar projects exist in the cities of Aveiro, Porto and Ovar. In August 2017, a new law was put in place in order to prevent both the demolition of tile-covered buildings and renovation work that includes the removal of tiles, even if they affect only the building's interior.


See also

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National Museum of the Azulejo The Museu Nacional do Azulejo (Portuguese for National Museum of the Azulejo), occasionally known in English as the National Tile Museum, is an art museum in Lisbon, Portugal dedicated to the azulejo, traditional tilework of Portugal and the fo ...
*
Portuguese architecture Portuguese architecture refers to both the architecture of Portugal's modern-day territory in Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, as well as the architectural heritage/patrimony of Portuguese architects and styles throughout the world, p ...
*
Spanish architecture Spanish architecture refers to architecture in any area of what is now Spain, and by Spanish architects worldwide. The term includes buildings which were constructed within the current borders of Spain prior to its existence as a nation, when ...
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Zellige ''Zellij'' ( ar, الزليج, translit=zillīj; also spelled zillij or zellige) is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various pa ...


References


Sources

* Morales, Alfredo J. – ''Francisco Niculoso Pisano'', Arte Hispalense, Diputación de Sevilla, 1977, 1991 * dos Santos Simões, J. M. – ''Azulejaria em Portugal nos séculos XV e XVI : introdução geral'', Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2nd ed., Lisbon, 1990 (in Portuguese) * Costa, Vania
Azulejo
Accessible Travel Magazine, September 2006 * Meco, José – ''O Azulejo em Portugal'', Alfa, Lisbon, 1988 (in Portuguese) * Castel-Branco Pereira, João – ''Portuguese tiles from the National Museum of Azulejo'', Lisbon, 1995, * Turner, J. – ''Tile – History and Uses, Portugal'' in
Grove Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
, MacMillan, 1996, * ''The Rough Guide to Portugal'' – 11th edition March 2005 – * Rentes de Carvalho J. – ''Portugal, um guia para amigos'' – in Dutch translation: ''Portugal – De Arbeiderspers'', Amsterdam, 9th ed., August 1999 * Mucznik, Sonia.
''The Azulejos of Lisbon''
* Sabo, Rioleta; Falcato, Jorge. N. and photographs by Nicolas Lemonnier – ''Portuguese Decorative Tiles'', New York, London and Paris, 1998; * Barros Veloso, A. J.; Almasqué, Isabel – ''Portuguese Tiles and Art Nouveau / O Azulejo Portugués ea Arte Nova'', Edições Inapa, Portugal, 2000;


External links



* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20131108091534/http://www.museudoazulejo.pt/en-GB/default.aspx National Azulejo Museum, Portugal
An illustrated history of the azulejo

The over-glaze decoration technique


(in Portuguese) {{Authority control Wallcoverings Types of pottery decoration Tiling Portuguese traditions