SNBA presents two exhibitions by the sculptor João da Silva (1880-1960).
This author, an exponent of symbolist sculpture, is also a great innovator of medals coined in Portugal.
The exhibition “O Escultor Animalista” (The Animalist Sculptor) presents the author’s animalistic side, where his pieces are suspended in gesture, agility and other momentary movements of young animals.
The exhibition “The Legacy and the Crisis of 1952 by SNBA” refers to the year of 1952 when the SNBA was closed and sealed by the Estado Novo (“New State”) for several months without prospects of solution. It was in August of 1952 that the sculptor João da Silva and his wife, the pianist Maria do Pilar, bequeathed in their certified will and testament, their entire legacy to the National Society of Fine Arts.
All details are documented here, from the expulsion of society member Eduardo Malta to the closure of the Society by the Ministry of the Interior, through the long silence of the regime.
João da Silva was born in Lisbon on 1st December, 1880.
Early in his career he worked as an apprentice chisel and jeweller. He continued his studies abroad, studying tooling and medal-making.
As a sculptor he was prominently known as a medalist, but he was also dedicated to the study of animals.
