The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended this Wednesday that it must be guaranteed, through public and private organizations, that part of the work of the painter Paula Rego remains in Portugal.
This position is contained in a note of condolence published in the sLet’s go official of the Presidency of the Republic, after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa lamented the death of Paula Rego in statements to journalists, in Braga.
“The greatest tribute would be to be able to guarantee, through the interventions of public and private organizations, that a relevant part of Paula Rego’s legacy will remain in Portugal, a country in which she had not lived for a long time, but from which she never left. ”, said the head of state in the written message.
Paula Rego, one of the most important Portuguese artists, has died
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recounted that when he visited the “ambitious and impressive retrospective of Paula Rego at the Tate, in London”, in July of last year, “it was decided that he would follow the versions of this exhibition in various European cities”. “And so it happened, first in The Hague, then in Malaga, on a trip that hopefully ends in Portugal. In a dialogue that had already reached a fever pitch when I visited her in her atelier in London in 2016,” he said.
According to the President of the Republic, in all cities the exhibition aroused “the same reaction, coming from curators, critics, journalists, visitors: that it is one of the strongest and most unique universes of contemporary art.”
The head of state described Paula Rego’s painting as “a convulsive figuration, in the British style”, to which he added “another look, another imaginary, dark and oppressive, or mythical and indomitable, a personal vision, naturally, but a vision Portuguese. ”.
The stories of Paula Rego: the works of the artist who painted prejudice and violence against women
“And all the approaches to universal art and literature were not complete without understanding what is specifically Portuguese in painting or drawing, whether they were children’s stories, youthful memories, archetypes, traumas or nostalgia,” he considered.
“Because of this, and because Paula Rego was, along with Vieira da Silva, our most internationally recognized artist, I accompanied her around Europe, even though she herself could no longer travel, and I witnessed the charming and disturbing power of her work,” he added.
The President of the Republic expressed his “feelings of regret and gratitude” to the family of Paula Rego, addressing in particular her son Nick Willing.
Source: Observadora
