Azulejo (, ; from the Arabic )
In Spanish and Portuguese, azulejo is simply the everyday word for (any) tile.
Etymology
The word azulejo (as well as the Ligurian laggion[Cf. the Italian noun laggione on the Il nuovo De Mauro dictionary.]) is derived from the Arabic الزليج (),[ zellij meaning "polished stone" because the original idea was to imitate the Byzantine and Roman mosaics.]
History
13th to 15th centuries
The Spanish city of Seville became the major centre of the Hispano-Moresque tile industry. The earliest azulejos in the 13th century were panels of tile-mosaic known as alicatados (from ),[ La Ruta de la Cerámica, Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Azulejos, Castellón, 2000][ Les Métamorphoses de l'azur, Ars Latina, Paris, 1994] This tradition was continued for a time in Mudéjar architecture in Spain (e.g. in the 14th-century sections of the Alcázar of Seville),
When former Moorish-controlled territories came under Spanish rule in Spain, new techniques of tile-making developed from the older Andalusi traditions. As wealthy Spaniards favoured the Mudéjar style to decorate their residences, the demand for mosaic tilework in this style increased beyond what tilemakers could produce, requiring them to consider new methods.
The same techniques were introduced into Portugal by King Manuel I after a visit to Seville in 1503. They were applied on walls and used for paving floors, as can be seen in several rooms, especially the Arab Room of the Sintra National Palace (including the famous cuenca tiles with the armillary sphere, symbol of king Manuel I). The Portuguese adopted the Moorish tradition of horror vacui ('fear of empty spaces') and covered the walls completely with azulejos.
File:Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo, Granada. Elementos decorativos.jpg|(Moorish) Alicatado (ca. 13th century
16th century
Potters from Italy came into Seville in the early 16th century and established workshops there. They brought with them the maiolica techniques which allowed the artists to represent a much larger number of figurative themes in their compositions. The first Italian potter to move into Spain was Francisco Niculoso who settled in Seville in 1498.[Morales, Alfredo J. – Francisco Niculoso Pisano, Arte Hispalense, Diputación de Sevilla, 1991] Niculoso's arrival led to the development of Sevillian tiles, often referred to as planos; and a new decorative technique known as pisanos, that incorporated maiolica technique with the new medium for azulejos.
Until the mid-16th century the Portuguese continued to rely on foreign imports, mostly from Spain, such as the Annunciation by Francisco Niculoso in Évora, but also on a smaller scale from Antwerp (Flanders), such as the two panels by Jan Bogaerts in the Paço Ducal of Vila Viçosa (Alentejo). One of the early Portuguese masters of the 16th century was Marçal de Matos, to whom Susanna and the Elders (1565), in Quinta da Bacalhoa, Azeitão, is attributed, as well as the Adoration of the Shepherds (in the National Museum of Azulejos in Lisbon).
In the late 16th century, checkered azulejos were used as decoration for large surfaces, such as in churches and monasteries. Diagonally placed plain white tiles were surrounded by blue square ones and narrow border tiles.
File:Niculoso Alcazar Seville.jpg|Chapel of the Alcázar of Seville (Spain) covered with tin-glazed tiles painted in 1504 by the Francesco Niculoso.
17th century
Shortly afterwards, these plain white tiles were replaced by polychrome tiles ( enxaquetado rico) often giving a complex framework such as in the Igreja de Santa Maria de Marvila in Santarém, Portugal.
When the diagonal tiles were replaced by a repetitive pattern of horizontal polychrome tiles, one could obtain a new design with different motifs, interlacing Mannerist drawings with representations of roses and camellias (sometimes roses and ). An inset votive usually depicts a scene from the life of Christ or a saint. These carpet compositions ( azulejo de tapete), as they were called, elaborately framed with and borders, were produced in great numbers during the 17th century. The best examples are to be found in the Igreja do Salvador, Évora, Igreja de S. Quintino, Obral de Monte Agraço, Igreja de S. Vicente, Cuba (Portugal) and the university chapel in Coimbra.
The use of azulejos for the decoration of antependia (front of an altar), imitating precious altar cloths, is typical for Portugal. The panel may be in one piece, or composed of two or three sections. They were used in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Some antependia of the 17th century imitate oriental fabrics (calico, chintz). The golden fringes of the altar cloth were imitated by yellow motifs on the painted border tiles. Excellent examples can be found in the Hospital de Santa Marta, Lisbon, or in the Convent of Santa Maria de Almoster and the Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco.
During the same period another motif in was introduced: floral vases flanked by birds, dolphins or putti, the so-called albarradas. They were probably inspired by Flemish paintings of flower vases, such as by Jan Brueghel the Elder. These were still free-standing in the 17th century, but they would be used in repetitive modules in the 18th century. Azulejos located in the Royal Monastery of the Descalzas Reales depicted various virtues and aspects of women of royal descent. These tiles are singular in nature, but reflect a marked shift—during the late 16th and early 17th centuries—away from geometric patterns to an emphasis on religious and colloquial depictions.
Azulejos dating from 1642 are in the Basilica and Convent de San Francisco de Lima, Peru.[ See section 12 in "Los azulejos de Sevilla" for a letter from Pedro Rodríguez to Marcos Ibáñez on payment for tiles.] Azulejos in the Colegio Maximo de San Pedro contain numerous depictions of martyrs and prominent Catholic figures commissioned by Jesuit missionaries. These depictions served both devotional and symbolic purposes, and their inclusion was used to reinforce the Jesuit presence in Lima.
Another type of azulejo composition, called aves e ramagens ('birds and branches'), came into vogue between 1650 and 1680. They were influenced by the representations on printed textiles that were imported from India: Hinduism symbols, flowers, animals and birds.
In the second half of the 17th century, the Spanish artist Gabriel del Barco y Minusca introduced into Portugal the Delftware in the Netherlands. The workshops of Jan van Oort and Willem van der Kloet in Amsterdam created large tile panels with historical scenes for their rich Portuguese clients, such as for the Palace of the Marqueses da Fronteira in Benfica, Lisbon. But when King Peter II stopped all imports of azulejos between 1687 and 1698, the workshop of Gabriel del Barco took over the production. The last major production from Holland was delivered in 1715. Soon large, home-made blue-and-white figurative tiles, designed by academically trained Portuguese artists, became the dominant fashion, superseding the former taste for repeated patterns and abstract decoration.
Image:Beja26.jpg|Carpet-style decoration
Museu da Rainha D. Leonor; Beja, Portugal
Image:Sagres07.jpg|Antependium decorated with azulejos
Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça; Sagres, Portugal
Image:В саду Дворца Фронтейра (11609800903).jpg|Kings Gallery fountain, Palace of the Marquess of Fronteira, Lisbon, Portugal
File:Lisbon Travel 2011 (5900363958).jpg|Palace of the Marquess of Fronteira, Lisbon.
File:Santas Justa y Rufina.jpg| Saints Justa and Rufina, , Museum of Fine Arts of Seville
/ref> at the Basilica of Santo Domingo, Lima, Peru
File:Capilla del Rosario 07.jpg|Azulejos inside the Chapel of the Rosario (1531-1690),[ in the Basilica of San Francisco, Lima, Peru.
]
18th century
The late 17th and early 18th centuries became the 'Golden Age of the Azulejo', the so-called Cycle of the Masters ( Ciclo dos Mestres). Mass production was started not just because of a greater internal demand, but also because of large orders came in from the Portuguese Colonial Brazil. Large one-off orders were replaced by the less expensive use of repetitive tile patterns. Churches, monasteries, palaces and even houses were covered inside and outside with azulejos, many with exuberant Baroque elements.
The most prominent master-designers in these early years of the 18th century were: António Pereira (artist), Manuel dos Santos, the workshop of António de Oliveira Bernardes and his son Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes; the Master PMP (only known by his monogram) and his collaborators Teotónio dos Santos and Valentim de Almeida; Bartolomeu Antunes and his pupil Nicolau de Freitas. As their production coincided with the reign of King João V (1706–1750), the style of this period is also called the Joanine style.
During this same period appear the first 'invitation figures' ( figura de convite), invented by the Master PMP and produced in the 18th and 19th centuries. These are cut-out panels of azulejos with life-size figures (footmen, , noblemen or elegantly dressed ladies), usually placed in entrances of palaces (see Palácio da Mitra), patios and stair landings. Their purpose was to welcome visitors. They can only be found in Portugal.
In the 1740s the taste of Portuguese society changed from the monumental narrative panels to smaller and more delicately executed panels in Rococo style. These panels depict gallant and pastoral themes as they occur in the works of the French painter Antoine Watteau. Fine examples are the façade and the gardens of the Palace of the Dukes de Mesquitela in Carnide (Lisbon) and the Corredor das Mangas in the Queluz National Palace. The mass-produced tiles acquired a more stereotypic design with predominant polychrome irregular shell motifs.
François Lemoyne, another prominent Rococo artist, influenced the trends azulejo followed at this time as well. His recently rediscovered work, the Annunciation, has been credited by researchers as a significant exemplar for 18th century azulejo works in Portugal and Brazil. The original work was copied by Laurent Cars and proliferated through Portugal and its colonies. Lemoyne's work has been reproduced through azulejo in numerous Portuguese churches. The work depicts the annunciation of Mary by Gabriel the archangel and one such example exists in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz.
The reconstruction of Lisbon after the great earthquake of 1755 gave rise to a more utilitarian role for decoration with azulejos. This bare and functional style would become known as the Pombaline style, named after the Marquis of Pombal, who was put in charge of rebuilding the country. Small devotional azulejo panels started to appear on buildings as protection against future disasters.
In Mexico, the production of Talavera, a regional form of maiolica, developed from azulejo techniques introduced in the early 16th century. Azulejos were widely utilized in religious and domestic applications at this time, and The Casa de los Azulejos—constructed in 1737 for the Count and Countess of El Valle de Orizaba—in Mexico City is one such example.
As a reaction, simpler and more delicate Neoclassicism designs started to appear with more subdued colours. These themes were introduced in Portugal by the engravings of Robert and James Adams. The Real Fábrica de Louça do Rato, with the master-designer Sebastião Inácio de Almeida and the painter Francisco de Paula e Oliveira, became in this period an important manufacturer of the characteristic so-called Rato-tiles. Another important tile painter in this period was Francisco Jorge da Costa.
With great Portuguese influence, the city of São Luís, in Maranhão, in Brazil, preserves the largest urban agglomeration of azulejos from the 18th and 19th centuries, throughout Latin America. In 1997, the Historic Center of São Luís was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. São Luís is also known as "Cidade dos Azulejos".
File:Sintra L1190119 (25141013871).jpg|Azulejos of the walls of Sala dos Brasões (ca. 18th century
19th century
In the first half of the 19th century, there was a stagnation in the production of decorative tiles, owing first to the Peninsular War and later to social and economic changes. When around 1840 immigrant Brazilians started an industrialized production in Porto, the Portuguese took over the Brazilian fashion of decorating the façades of their houses with azulejos. While these factories produces high-relief tiles in one or two colours, the Lisbon factories started using another method: the transfer-print method on blue-and-white or polychrome azulejos. In the last decades of the 19th century, the Lisbon factories started to use another type of transfer-printing: using creamware blanks.
While these industrialized methods produced simple, stylized designs, the art of hand-painting tiles was not dead, as applied by Manuel Joaquim de Jesus and especially Luís Ferreira. Luis Ferreira was the director of the Lisbon factory Viúva Lamego and covered the whole façade of this factory with allegorical scenes. He produced panels, known as Ferreira das Tabuletas, with flower vases, trees, and allegorical figures, applying the trompe-l'œil technique. These hand-painted panels are fine examples of the eclectic Romantic culture of the late 19th century.
Mid-19th century, in England, in addition to encaustic tiles and mosaics, the Mintons factory also produced azulejos.[Digby Wyatt, May 26, 1858, Journal of the Society of Arts, On the influence exercised on ceramic manufacturers by the late Mr. Herbert Minton, p.442 [2]]
File:Fachada de azulejos - Lisboa.jpg|Casa do Ferreira das Tabuletas, in Rua da Trindade, Lisbon, building built between 1849 and 1865 with its respective trompe-l'œil azulejos in the facade.
Image:AzulejoPalácioHoteldoBuçaco2.jpg|Azulejos at Buçaco Palace, in Mealhada, Portugal.
Image:Aveiro Azulejo.jpg|Façade of a grand house in Aveiro, Portugal.
File:Talavera de la Reina - Jardines del Prado 22.jpg|Jardines del Prado garden in Talavera de la Reina, Spain. Built in 1864.
20th century
At the start of the 20th century, Art Nouveau azulejos started to appear from artists such as Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, Júlio César da Silva and José António Jorge Pinto. In 1885 Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro founded a factory in Caldas da Rainha, where he created many of the pottery designs for which this city is known. In this factory he has his own a museum São Rafael devoted to his fantastically imaginative work, especially the decorative plates and his satirical stone figures, such as the Zé Povinho (a representation of the worrying common man).
Around the 1930s, Art Deco-azulejos made their appearance with their principal artist António Costa. The monumental decorations, consisting of 20,000 azulejos, in the vestibule of the São Bento railway station in Porto, created by Jorge Colaço,
This one of the most notable creations with azulejos of the 20th century. The façades of the churches of Santo Ildefonso and Congregados equally attest to the artistic mastery of Jorge Colaço. Other artists from this period include Mário Branco and Silvestre Silvestri, who decorated in 1912 the lateral façade of the Carmo Church, and Eduardo Leite for his work on the Almas Chapel (imitating the style of the 18th century), both in Porto.
20th-century artists include Jorge Barradas, Carlos Botelho, Jorge Martins, Sá Nogueira, Menez and Paula Rego. Maria Keil designed the large abstract panels in the initial nineteen stations of the Lisbon Metro (between 1957 and 1972). Through these works she became a driving force in the revival and the updating of the art of the azulejo, which had gone in some decline. Her decorations of the station Intendente is considered a masterpiece of contemporary tile art.
File:Intérieur_de_la_cathédrale_de_São_Tomé_(10).jpg|Inside the Grace Cathedral, São Tomé
File:Goelbench06390140.JPG|Park Güell, Barcelona, of 1914.
File:Patos 19.jpg|One of the several tiled benches of the Plaza 25 de Julio built in 1917,
Lisbon Metro
Azulejo tiles are present in almost every station in the Lisbon Metro system.
Initially, painter Maria Keil (1914–2012), wife of metro system architect Francisco Keil do Amaral (1910–1975), created the works for the Metro stations.
A new expansion, completed in 1988, featured works by more contemporary Portuguese artists: Rolando de Sá Nogueira in Laranjeiras, Júlio Pomar in Alto dos Moinhos, Manuel Cargaleiro in Colégio Militar/Luz, and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva in Cidade Universitária. Following on from this, many artists have been commissioned to decorate new and refurbished stations.
Pieces
| Station | Line | Artist(s) and date of completion |
| Alameda | Green | Maria Keil, 1972, & Noronha da Costa,1998 |
| Alameda | Red | Costa Pinheiro, Alberto Carneiro, & Juahana Bloomstedt, 1998 |
| Alfornelos | Blue | Ana Vidigal, 2004 |
| Alto dos Moinhos | Blue | Júlio Pomar, 1988 |
| Alvalade | Green | Maria Keil, 1972, Bela Silva, 2006, & Maria Keil, 2007 |
| Amadora Este | Blue | Graça Morais, 2004 |
| Ameixoeira | Yellow | Irene Buarque, 2004 |
| Anjos | Green | Maria Keil, 1966 & Rogério Ribeiro, 1982 |
| Areeiro | Green | Maria Keil, 1972 & Júlia Ventura, 2013 |
| Arroios | Green | Maria Keil, 1972 |
| Avenida | Blue | Rogério Ribeiro, 1959, 1982 |
| Baixa-Chiado | Blue | Ângelo de Sousa, 1998 |
| Baixa-Chiado | Green | Ângelo de Sousa, 1998 |
| Bela Vista | Red | Querubim Lapa, 1998 |
| Cabo Ruivo | Red | David de Almeida, 1998 |
| Cais do Sodré | Green | António Dacosta, 1998 & Pedro Morais, 1998 |
| Campo Grande | Yellow | Eduardo Nery, 1993 |
| Campo Grande | Green | Eduardo Nery, 1993 |
| Campo Pequeno | Yellow | Maria Keil, 1959, 1979, & Francisco Simões, 1994 |
| Carnide | Blue | José de Guimarães, 1997 |
| Chelas | Red | Jorge Martins, 1998 |
| Cidade Universitária | Yellow | Manuel Cargaleiro (Transposition in azulejo of a 1940 painting by Vieira da Silva), 1988 |
| Colégio Militar/Luz | Blue | Manuel Cargaleiro, 1988 |
| Entre Campos | Yellow | Maria Keil, 1959, 1973, & Bartolomeu Cid dos Santos, 1993, & José de Santa Bárbara, 1993 |
| Intendente | Green | Maria Keil, 1966 e 1977 |
| Jardim Zoológico | Blue | Maria Keil, 1959 & Júlio Resende, 1995 |
| Laranjeiras | Blue | Rolando Sá Nogueira (in collaboration with Fernando Conduto) 1988 |
| Lumiar | Yellow | António Moutinho, Marta Lima, & Susete Rebelo, 2004 |
| Marquês de Pombal | Yellow | Menez, 1995 |
| Marquês de Pombal | Blue | Maria Keil, João Cutileiro, & Charters de Almeida, 1995 |
| Martim Moniz | Green | Maria Keil, 1966, & Gracinda Candeias, 1997, & José João Brito, 1997 |
| Moscavide | Red | Manuel Bastos, 2012 |
| Olivais | Red | Nuno de Siqueira & Cecília de Sousa, 1998 |
| Oriente | Red | António Ségui, Artur Boyd, Errö, Hundertwasser, Yayoi Kusama, Joaquim Rodrigo, Abdoulaye Konaté, Sean Scully, Raza, Zao Wou Ki, & Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1998 |
| Parque | Blue | Maria Keil, 1959 & Françoise Schein, 1994 & Federica Matta, 1994 & João Cutileiro, 1995 |
| Picoas | Yellow | Maria Keil, 1959, 1982, & Martins Correia, 1995 |
| Pontinha | Blue | Jacinto Luís, 1997 |
| Praça de Espanha | Blue | Maria Keil, 1959, 1980 |
| Quinta das Conchas | Yellow | Joana Rosa, 2004 & Manuel Baptista, 2004 |
| Rato | Yellow | Vieira da Silva (transposed to azulejo by Manuel Cargaleiro), & Arpad Szènés, 1997 |
| Restauradores | Blue | Maria Keil, 1959, 1977, Luiz Ventura, 1994, Nadir Afonso & Lagoa Henriques, 1998 |
| Roma | Green | Maria Keil, 1972, Lourdes de Castro & René Bertholo, 2006 |
| Rossio | Green | Maria Keil, 1963 & Artur Rosa & Helena Almeida, 1998 |
| Saldanha | Red | Almada Negreiros (transposed by José Almada Negreiros), 2009 |
| Saldanha | Yellow | Maria Keil, 1959, 1977, Jorge Vieira, 1996, 1997, Luis Filipe de Abreu, 1996, 1997 |
| Santa Apolónia | Blue | José Santa-Bárbara, 2007 |
| São Sebastião | Blue | Maria Keil, 1959, 1977, 2009 |
| São Sebastião | Red | Maria Keil, 2009 & Catarina Almada Negreiros, 2009 & Rita Almada Negreiros, 2009 |
| Senhor Roubado | Yellow | José Pedro Croft, 2004 |
| Telheiras | Green | Eduardo Batarda, 2002 |
| Terreiro do Paço | Blue | João Vieira, 2007 |
Traditions
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Hispano-Moresque ware (Spanish)
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Talavera de la Reina pottery (Spanish)
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Manises pottery (Spanish)
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Paterna pottery (Spanish)
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Talavera pottery (Mexican)
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Uriarte Talavera (Mexican)
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El Puente del Arzobispo pottery (Spanish)
State of protection
Tiles are vulnerable to vandalism, neglect, and theft due to their prevalence and relative ease of access in historic and often decaying buildings across Portugal. In Lisbon, tiles can sometimes be found for sale in and the black market,
The main azulejo protection group in Portugal, SOS Azulejo, created in 2007 and working as a dependency of Polícia Judiciária,
In August 2017, a law was passed to prohibit both the demolition of buildings with tiles and renovation work involving the removal of tiles, even if only in the building's interior.
See also
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Portuguese architecture
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Portuguese pavement
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Spanish architecture
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Spanish Colonial architecture
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National Museum of the Azulejo
Sources
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Morales, Alfredo J. – Francisco Niculoso Pisano, Arte Hispalense, Diputación de Sevilla, 1977, 1991
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dos Santos Simões, J. M. – Azulejaria em Portugal nos séculos XV e XVI : introdução geral, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2nd ed., Lisbon, 1990 (in Portuguese)
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Costa, Vania – Azulejo, Accessible Travel Magazine, September 2006
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Meco, José – O Azulejo em Portugal, Alfa, Lisbon, 1988 (in Portuguese)
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Castel-Branco Pereira, João – Portuguese tiles from the National Museum of Azulejo, Lisbon, 1995,
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Turner, J. – Tile – History and Uses, Portugal in Grove Dictionary of Art, MacMillan, 1996,
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The Rough Guide to Portugal – 11th edition March 2005 –
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Rentes de Carvalho J. – Portugal, um guia para amigos – in Dutch translation: Portugal – De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 9th ed., August 1999
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Mucznik, Sonia. – The Azulejos of Lisbon
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Sabo, Rioleta; Falcato, Jorge. N. and photographs by Nicolas Lemonnier – Portuguese Decorative Tiles, New York, London and Paris, 1998;
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Barros Veloso, A. J.; Almasqué, Isabel – Portuguese Tiles and Art Nouveau / O Azulejo Portugués ea Arte Nova, Edições Inapa, Portugal, 2000;
External links
