In my smile my surrender

Amália Rodrigues sings of Lisbon, embodying and projecting the city both inside and outside of Portugal. The figure of the fado singer, reinforced by exposure in modern media, contributed to a renewal of the imagery of fado as a musical genre and of the city of Lisbon itself. 

Sculptor Joaquim Valente was the artist behind one of the most iconic visual representations of Amália, portraying her in communion with fado. This sculpture instantly became emblematic when it appeared on the cover of Amália's album recorded in 1962, a record which features lyrics by various renowned Portuguese poets and which marked the beginning of a fruitful artistic partnership with Alain Oulman.

Untitled and revolutionary, this record would come to be known as Busto [Bust]. Associated with the centenary of the fado singer's birth and revisiting the collections of the Museum of Lisbon, this exhibition tells the story of this sculpture. 

Learn more here