Figueiredo Sobral (1926 – 13 August 2010) was a Portuguese painter, sculptor and poet. His monumental sculptures and murals are displayed in public spaces in Portugal and Brazil. His work is held in many public and private collections.
Life
Jose Maria Figueiredo Sobral was born in Lisbon in 1926.
He graduated from the Antonio Arroio Decorative Arts School (''
Escola Secundária Artística António Arroio'') where he studied under
Lino António
Lino António da Conceição (26 November 1898 – 23 October 1974) was a Portuguese artist known for his Modernist paintings. He made many friezes, frescos, stained glass and ceramic panels for public buildings and private collections in Portuga ...
, Paula Campos and Rodrigues Alves.
Sobral worked in a range of media including painting, graphic design, illustration, scenography and poetry.
His paintings were first shown publicly at the General Exhibitions of Fine Arts (SNBA, Lisbon) immediately after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(1939–45).
He joined the Portuguese surrealist group formed by
Antônio Maria Lisboa and
Cesariny Vasconcelos.
His first individual exhibition was in
Castelo de Vide
Castelo de Vide () is a municipality in Portugal, with a population of 3,407 inhabitants in 2011, in an area of .
History
It is unclear when humans settled Castelo de Vide, although archaeologists suggest the decision came from the morphology of ...
in 1952.
Since then his work has been shown in many individual and group exhibitions.
Until the late 1950s Sobral worked in creative advertising and a graphic illustration.
He also wrote poetry and drama, and worked as a layout designer.
He was critical of the regime of
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...
, and was arrested several times for political reasons.
He took up sculpture in the 1960s, and then ceramics.
In 1970 he began to collaborate in making tapestry with the Manufactura de Tapeçarias de Portalegre.
He was a co-founder of the Minotauro publishing house with
Urbano Tavares Rodrigues
Urbano Tavares Rodrigues, GCIH (December 6, 1923 – August 9, 2013) was a Portuguese professor of literature, a literary critic and a fiction writer, winner of many literary prizes.
Life
Urbano Tavares Rodrigues was born in Lisbon on Decembe ...
.
This company published the Minotauro magazine.
In 1975 he moved to
Americana, São Paulo
Americana () is a municipality (''município'') located in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population is 229,322 (2015 est.) in an area of . The origin ...
, where he created a sculpture for the city entrance at the invitation of former Mayor
Ralph Biasi.
Figueiredo Sobral died on 13 August 2010 in Lisbon at the age of 85.
Sobral's monumental sculptures and mural paintings are installed in urban public spaces in Brazil and Portugal.
His work is held in the
Boston Museum, The Art World Gallery, Michigan and the Interart Gallery, Miami, and in private collections in Portugal, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Toulon, São Paulo and Chicago.
Individual exhibitions
*n.d. - Porto (Portugal) - Galeria Dois
*n.d. - Porto (Portugal) - Galeria Opinião
*1978 - Santos SP - Galeria Stella Maris
*1979 - Guarujá SP - Civiltec Feira de Arte
*1979 - São Paulo SP - Galeria Paulo Prado
*1980 - Santos SP - Figueiredo Sobral, desenho, escultura e aquarela, no CCBEU
*1981 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Galeria São Mamede
*1984 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Galeria São Francisco
*1984 - São Paulo SP - Galeria Paulo Prado
Prizes and medals
*1959 F. Tomar first prize
*1960 QFUC first prize
*1961 Antoniana Exhibition third prize
*1961 VII Autumntime Exhibition Bronze Medal
*1963 IX Autumntime Exhibition Bronze Medal
*1964 II Modern Art Hall Silver Medal
*MAC'2000 - Career, MAC – Movimento Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon.
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobral, Figueiredo
1926 births
2010 deaths
Portuguese artists