Henrique Pousão
Encyclopedia
Henrique César de Araújo Pousão (Vila Viçosa
, 1 January 1859 - Vila Viçosa
, 20 March 1884) was a Portuguese
painter.
, graduating in 1879 with excellent grades and numerous prizes.
After graduation, Pousão travelled to France and studied at the Fine Art Academy of Paris under Adolphe Yvon
and Cabanel. But he suffered from tuberculosis
, and under his doctor's advice left Paris for Italy, hoping that the warmer climate might relieve his condition. In 1882 he established a studio in Rome
on the Via dei Portoghesi, moving later to Naples
and Capri
. Some of his major works were painted during his time in Italy. In 1884, still unwell, he returned to Portugal, where he died that year.
generation, like António Silva Porto
and João Marques de Oliveira
, though his work is more related then theirs to impressionism
. In Paris he appears to have been influenced by Manet
, especially in his use of black in equal proportion to other colours. Some critics have seen in his landscape works, rendered in a looser, expressive style, a prelude to modern art
and abstraction
. This approach appears in the abstract plains of colour and textures of his 1882 paintings Miragem and Fachada de Porta Soterrada. Some of his best works were painted on small wood panels no bigger than 100mm x 160mm in a poetic, luminous style.
The best collection of his work is at the National Museum Soares dos Reis
, in Porto
.
Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 195.0 km² and a total population of 8,745 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
, 1 January 1859 - Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa
Vila Viçosa is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 195.0 km² and a total population of 8,745 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
, 20 March 1884) was a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
painter.
Life
Henrique Pousão was the son of a judge, from a wealthy family of Alentejo. His early talent manifested at the age of ten, when he copied a portrait of Rubens. In 1872 he enrolled in the Fine Arts Academy of PortoPorto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, graduating in 1879 with excellent grades and numerous prizes.
After graduation, Pousão travelled to France and studied at the Fine Art Academy of Paris under Adolphe Yvon
Adolphe Yvon
Adolphe Yvon was a French painter known for his paintings from the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher....
and Cabanel. But he suffered from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and under his doctor's advice left Paris for Italy, hoping that the warmer climate might relieve his condition. In 1882 he established a studio in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on the Via dei Portoghesi, moving later to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
. Some of his major works were painted during his time in Italy. In 1884, still unwell, he returned to Portugal, where he died that year.
Work
Pousão belonged to the naturalistNaturalism (art)
Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. The Realism movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in Romanticism, but many painters have adopted a similar approach over the centuries...
generation, like António Silva Porto
António Silva Porto
António de Carvalho da Silva Porto was a Portuguese naturalist painter.Born in Porto, he studied there under João António Correia and T. Furtado, then continued his studies in Paris and Rome....
and João Marques de Oliveira
João Marques de Oliveira
João Marques de Oliveira was a Portuguese naturalist painter.He studied in the Academy of Fine Arts in Porto and in 1873 travelled to France with is colleague António Silva Porto, where they studied with academical painters Adolphe Yvon and Alexandre Cabanel. They became familiar with the French...
, though his work is more related then theirs to impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. In Paris he appears to have been influenced by Manet
Manet
-MANET as an abbreviation:*MANET is a mobile ad hoc network, a self-configuring mobile wireless network.*MANET database or Molecular Ancestry Network, bioinformatics database-People with the surname Manet:*Édouard Manet, a 19th-century French painter....
, especially in his use of black in equal proportion to other colours. Some critics have seen in his landscape works, rendered in a looser, expressive style, a prelude to modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and abstraction
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
. This approach appears in the abstract plains of colour and textures of his 1882 paintings Miragem and Fachada de Porta Soterrada. Some of his best works were painted on small wood panels no bigger than 100mm x 160mm in a poetic, luminous style.
The best collection of his work is at the National Museum Soares dos Reis
National Museum Soares dos Reis
National Museum Soares dos Reis , located in the ancient Carrancas Palace, in Porto, Portugal, is one of the most renowned Portuguese museums.The museum Soares dos Reis, founded in 1833, is Portugal's first national museum...
, in Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
.