António Manuel Soares dos Reis (

Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population ...

, 14 October 1847 -

, 16 February 1889) was a Portuguese sculptor.

Studies

He first studied at the Portuense Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduated in sculpture in 1867. He studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

in Paris, from 1867 to 1870, where he achieved several prizes, and in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1871–1872). It was there that he executed his finest work, in

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

, the acclaimed "''O Desterrado''" ("The Exiled"), a touching image of neoclassical, romantic and realist resemblances, that is the masterpiece of Portuguese sculpture. After returning to Portugal, he returned to

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 ...

, where he taught at the Portuense Academy of Fine Arts. Misunderstood and little credited in life, he committed suicide, aged only 41. He is considered, by far, one of the leading names in Portuguese realist

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

Fame

The finest collection of his pieces is shown in a room dedicated to him at the National Museum Soares dos Reis, in Porto, including "''O Desterrado''" and the touching and kind figuration of the "Count of Ferreira" (1876). In 1949, a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

was made about him, entitled "''O Desterrado - Vida e Obra de Soares dos Reis''" (The Exiled - Life and works of Soares dos Reis). It was directed by Manuel Guimarães and starred José Amaro, and .IMDB
O Desterrado
/ref>

External links

References

1847 births 1889 deaths Portuguese sculptors Male sculptors Portuguese Roman Catholics Artists who committed suicide University of Porto alumni Suicides by firearm in Portugal People from Vila Nova de Gaia 19th-century Portuguese people 19th-century sculptors 1880s suicides {{Portugal-sculptor-stub