Resumos/Abstracts
The portraitist José Alberto Nunes (1829–1890)
Abstract
José Alberto Nunes was born in Oporto (1829), and acquired his artistic formation at the Academia Portuense de Belas Artes, between 1845 and 1852.
Once graduated in History Painting, he left Oporto for Guimarães, where
he worked for the Town Council, the Franciscan Venerable Third Order and
some private collectors. There he married Emília das Dores Amélia e Freitas
Nunes and established himself at Largo da Igreja, in the parish of São Sebastião. His first son, Adolfo, was born in November 1861.
Along the sixties he gained notoriety in his natal city, where he became the
main portraitist of the Brotherhoods and Third Orders. His painting, clearly
influenced by the manner of Augusto Roquemont, remained faithful to the
romantic aesthetic, which was no more in vogue.
Nunes took part in very few exhibitions, all in all seven: the triennials of
1848, 51, 54, 66 e 74; the Portuguese Exhibition at Rio de Janeiro (1879) and
the “Exposição d’Arte”, at the Ateneu Comercial do Porto (1888). From his
works, deserve special mention the portraits of the Earl of Samodães and his
wife, of Arnaldo Ribeiro Barbosa and his wife, of D. Carolina Augusta da
Costa, and of Alexandre Soares Pinto de Andrade.
José Alberto Nunes passed away the 25th february 1890.
Keywords: Painting; portrait; benefactors; Ordem Terceira de São Francisco;
Oporto.
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