Maria Wedge
Maria Pires da Silva Keil do Amaral (born August 9, 1914 in Silves ; † June 10, 2012 in Lisbon ) was a Portuguese painter .
Career
Keil received her artistic training at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes (art school) in Lisbon, where she was a student of the painter Veloso Salgado . At first, Keil mainly worked for advertising; she designed numerous posters, postcards and brochures for Portuguese companies.
In 1933 she married the Portuguese architect Francisco Keil do Amaral . She then accompanied him on his assignments, in which she was also partly involved. Francisco Keil do Amaral designed the Portuguese pavilion for the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris, Maria Keil was responsible for the interior. At the Portuguese World's Fair in 1940 she was represented with a wall painting, in 1941 she won the Prémio Revelação Amadeu de Sousa Cardoso for a self-portrait.
Maria Keil achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s and 1960s. The city of Lisbon commissioned them to design the stations of the Lisbon Metro , which opened in 1959 . For this purpose, Keil chose small-format azulejo tiles and thus laid the foundation for a renaissance of this Portuguese tradition, which was no longer considered adequate at the time. For each station she chose a special color concept with different shapes and patterns. These nineteen train stations from the 1950s and 1960s still shape the metro in the Portuguese capital today. In the meantime, other artists have taken up Keil's idea and developed it further, so that other subway stations in Lisbon also correspond to this style. Francisco Keil do Amaral was also involved in the construction of the metro; he was responsible for the technical planning of most of the stations on the original network.
gallery
Some works by Maria Keil:
The Sea , 1958–59, Azulejos , Av. Infante Santo, Lisbon
Wall design in the Lisbon metro station São Sebastião
Wall design in the Lisbon metro station Praça de Espanha
Azulejo wall design in the Alvalade metro station
Azulejo wall design in the Anjos metro station
Web links
- Biography of Maria Keil at Biblioteca Nacional (Portuguese)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wedge, Maria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Keil do Amaral, Maria Pires da Silva (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 9, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Silves , Portugal |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 10, 2012 |
| Place of death | Lisbon |