Almada Negreiros, the modernist who left his mark on Lisbon
Paintings, murals, incised drawings, tapestries, stained glass, tile panels… There are many forms of art that Almada Negreiros (1893-1970) left in the city of Lisbon, ranging from Gare Marítima de Alcântara and Gare Marítima da Rocha de Conde Óbidos, the churches of Nossa Senhora de Fátima and Santo Condestável, buildings on Rua Vale do Pereiro and Avenida Gago Coutinho, through the Patrício Prazeres School, the Faculties of Law and Arts of the University of Lisbon, as well as its rectory, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Court of Auditors, the Bristol Club and, of course, the Diário de Notícias building.
Invited by Pardal Monteiro, architect of the Diário de Notícias building, Almada Negreiros executed in the atrium, between 1939 and 1940, several frescoes in which he played with the representation of geographic space and time. In the main painting in the atrium, Almada Negreiros drew and painted a world map where real or invented animals, mythological figures, Botticelli’s Venus in the Arctic or the Eiffel Tower in France can be seen. On the opposite wall, Almada Negreiros decided to trace the production process of a newspaper, showing the passage of hours between the arrival of the news and the printing of the newspaper, in this case Diário de Notícias, which on the 29th will complete 157 years. On the side wall, Almada Negreiros painted a map of Portugal in fresco, to which he added the representation of the seasons associated with rural work. The work Allegory to the Press can be seen at the entrance.
The blind gable of the Diário de Notícias building was also designed by Almada Negreiros, the globe representing the signs of the zodiac and the stained glass window with the acronym ENP (National Advertising Company) on the façade of the Avenida da Liberdade building.