“When I sing, I listen to myself, and when I listen to myself I end up crying.” Amalia Rodriguez
Mar 29, 2017
Our last day in Portugal and the weather a perfect spring day. So we wander aimlessly from our hotel to the museum, the route takes us through Barrio Alto to Alcantarra, up and down narrow streets, with its tiles facades houses Balconies in beautifully detailed wrought iron and their flower boxes some with hanging greenery, some in full bloom and the clotheslines and colorful drying clothes. The colors of the textiles against the tiles enhance the urban scenery, you don’t see this from a tour bus.
As we walked through and encounter people with a customary “bom dia,” we reached the museum in which we spent the next 3 hours.
The Museu Nacional de Art is also known as MNAA (in English, National Museum of Ancient Art). It occupies the Palácio de Alvor-Pombal, a former palace of the Count of Alvor, later purchased by the Marquess of Pombal.
The Museum has its roots in the 1833 abolition of religious orders and confiscation of the monasteries in Portugal, which brought a trove of religious art and ornaments into the public sphere. In the chaos and aftermath of the Portuguese Liberal Wars, some of the private art collections of ruined noble families were expropriated or found their way onto the market.
The MNAA’s first museum director promptly began reforming the museum based on the latest planning and exhibition principles and re-orienting it decisively towards painting. In 1940, the MNAA expanded its installations by acquiring the neighboring old convent of Santo Alberto and turned it into an annex connected by a footbridge. The chapel of the convent, a fine example of 18th Portuguese Baroque art and architecture, was incorporated into the exhibits.
Perhaps the most famous work in the museum is the Saint Vincent Panels, which date from before 1470 and are attributed to Nuno Gonçalves, court painter of King Afonso V. The English translation of the name of the museum is misleading in that the collection includes no museologically “ancient” works of art, but rather holdings that are simply old or “antique.” The collection includes painting, sculpture, metalwork, textiles, furniture, drawings, and other decorative art forms from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century The collections, especially those for the 15th and 16th centuries, are particularly important regarding the history of Portuguese painting, sculpture, and metalwork.
The museum also has important works by early 16th-century painters active in Portugal, such as, Jorge Afonso, Vasco Fernandes, Garcia Fernandes, Francisco de Holanda, Cristóvão Lopes, Gregório Lopes, Cristovão de Figueiredo, Francisco Henriques, Frei Carlos, and others. Paintings from the 17th through the early 19th centuries are well represented by works that include those of Josefa de Óbidos, Bento Coelho da Silveira, Vieira Portuense, Domingos Sequeira, and Morgado de Setúbal.
The European painting section of the museum is significant and is represented.
For our last dinner we decided on pizza, but not just any pizza, but PizZAria Lisboa, owned by the same chef, Jose Avillez (hottest chef in Lisboa), where we had dinner last night……it did not disappoint.
We also attended a Musical production of the life of Amalia Rodriguez, a fado singer and Portuguese icon…….the show started at 9:30 and let out at midnight with a 10-minute intermission. David asked me to do the Portuguese sleep? The show could rival any New York or London production with a large cast, beautiful, melancholic music, and songs. They had subtitles that gave you an overall idea as to the storyline. I was able to understand the partial dialogue.
But like a Puccini, or Wagner Opera, beautiful music is felt, no matter what language it’s sang in.
This to me was the perfect conclusion to two weeks of traveling through a country I have totally fallen in love with for the second time.
Amália Rodrigues, was a Portuguese fadista (fado singer) and actress. Known as the ‘Rainha do Fado’ (“Queen of Fado”), Rodrigues was instrumental in popularising fado worldwide and traveled internationally throughout her career. She became one of the most important figures during the genre’s revival in the twentieth century and was a leading female fadista during her 50-year recording and stage career. Rodrigues remains an iconic figure and inspiration to other fado and popular music; she had sold over 45 million records worldwide and she remains the best-selling Portuguese artist of all times.
She was the first Portuguese artist to appear to American television audiences on ABC in 1953. She also performed in Hollywood, singing at the Mocambo in 1954. In France, she’s almost as popular as in Portugal. Over the years, she performed nearly all over the world.
Rodrigues died in 1999 at age 79 at her home in Lisbon. Portugal’s government promptly declared three days of national mourning. Her house, in Rua de São Bento is now a museum. She is buried at the National Pantheon alongside other Portuguese notable figures. She remains one of the most international Portuguese artists and singers, and in Portugal, a national icon. She put Fado on the world map as a musical genre, and her works continue to inspire other performers and singers today, many of whom sing her repertoire.
Adues Lisboa
