Presentation of the book «Saint Anthony in blue and white»

The Museum of Lisbon - Saint Anthonyand CEISA - Center for Studies and Research of Saint Anthony are publishing this extraordinary investigation by Joaquim Eusébio that unites Portuguese tiles with Saint Anthony. Saint Anthony in blue and white is based on his doctoral thesis written in 2016 and distinguished with the SOS Azulejo award in 2017.

This work reveals to the public the true dimension of a tile heritage dedicated to the saint who was born in Lisbon and who became the best known Portuguese in the world.

If in the rest of Europe these episodes will be immortalized in mural paintings and canvasses, in Portugal and where Portuguese is spoken, it will also be the tile that fulfills this function. We find the representation of the same miracles on tiles throughout the country and throughout Brazil, reflecting the popularity of a saint who goes beyond the boundaries of religion and affirms an identity that unites peoples and creates bonds through a common heritage and traditions.

Joaquim Eusébio thus offers us a corpus of more than 300 tile panels produced in the 17th and 18th centuries with the representation of miracles and remarkable episodes of Saint Anthony life, which took the author, the photographers, and now all of us, on an incredible journey to discover a vast heritage in blue and white.

 

Se no resto da Europa estes episódios serão eternizados em pinturas murais e em telas, em Portugal e onde se fala português, será também o azulejo a cumprir essa função. Encontramos a representação dos mesmos milagres em azulejos por todo o país e pelo Brasil, espelhando a popularidade de um santo que ultrapassa as fronteiras da religião e afirma uma identidade que une povos e cria laços através de um património e tradições comuns.

Joaquim Eusébio oferece-nos assim um corpus de mais de 300 painéis de azulejos produzidos nos séculos XVII e XVIII com a representação dos milagres e de episódios marcantes da vida de Santo António, e que levou o autor, os fotógrafos, e agora todos nós, numa incrível viagem à descoberta de um vasto património a azul e branco.