Description of the attraction
The Rafael Bordalu Pinheiro Museum is located in the northern part of Lisbon, Campo Grande. The exposition of the museum tells about the life and works of one of the most prominent personalities of the cultural, political and artistic life of Lisbon in the twentieth century - Rafael Bordalu Pinheiro.
The building for the museum was designed by Cruz Magalles, a big fan of Bordalu Pinheiro's work. Cruz Magalles wanted to find a worthy location for his large Pinheiro art collection, which he founded in 1916.
To date, the museum almost completely contains the entire collection of Bordalu Pinheiro: 1200 ceramics, 3500 sketches, 3000 original paintings and drawings, 900 photographs and more than 3000 publications. The museum also has a special library, a shop, themed events and seminars.
Rafaela Bordalu Pinheiro became famous for his illustrations, cartoons, sculptures and ceramics. Above all, he is the first comic book creator in Portugal. Rafaela Bordalu's artistic streak was inherited by Pinheiro from his family. His father, Manuel Maria Bordalu Pinheiro, was also an artist. Pinheiro began publishing his illustrations and cartoons in humorous magazines. Fame was brought to him by the character Ze Povigno, an ordinary resident of Portugal, who fights for his rights and seriously defends them. Ze Povigno became the most famous character in Portugal and still is. In 1875, Pinheiro went to work in Brazil as an illustrator and cartoonist. Over time, Pinheiro became the editor of a humorous magazine. His popularity as a cartoonist led him to become a contributor to the world's first illustrated weekly, The Illustrated London News.
In 1885, he established a faience factory in the Portuguese town of Caldas da Rainha, which is considered one of the three most prestigious and oldest European ceramics factories and produces ceramics under the Bordalo Pinheiro trademark.
