Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins “Before the Beginning” 2022

in Diário de Notícias, January 25, 2022
The work of painter Manuel Amado has a very distinctive character. What stands out, more than the architect’s background, is the artist’s relentless search for the essence of things, of spaces, of paths, and of the humanity involved therein. As José-Augusto França put it: «this painting’s technique is […] smooth and impersonally serene, of an even, angular light, in its sufficient appearance – as if the painter was intent on adding nothing at all to the image emerging in his own mind, in the simplicity of scenographic elements that could never be otherwise». And Manuel Amado himself used to say that painting «is the most direct way there is to represent reality, considering that reality is made by us. Without interference from words or fictions».

When, a few days ago, Amado’s catalogue raisonné was presented at the Gulbenkian Foundation by Mariana Pinto dos Santos, who addressed the various perspectives that his work elicits, we understood the painter’s incessant search for what is seen from afar, while mindfully freeing himself from the constraints of time that were so intriguing to Augustine of Hippo. Hence, the notion of painting as a way of halting time and bringing to light the oneiric aspect of memory. When we revisit the work Manuel Amado has created throughout his life, we feel at each moment the passion of representation, the memory of the old house where he lived as a child – currently the City Museum – and the presence of his father, Fernando Amado, a teacher at the Conservatório in Lisbon, a founder of the Centro Nacional de Cultura and the creator of Casa da Comédia. And we are also reminded of his encounter with Lourdes Castro and of the intense friendship they maintained. We do perceive in both, undeniably, the reference to a "theatre of shadows” as the essence of dramaturgy. It is not by chance, then, that we find them together at the Gulbenkian Foundation’s ACARTE, in 1984, performing Almada Negreiros’ play Before the Beginning. A title that leads us back to the mythical importance of the verb to begin, which Almada also used at the end of his brilliant career, in the panel he made for the Gulbenkian Foundation’s foyer. So, Lourdes Castro had asked Manuel to take on the role of the other marionette, the "Male Doll”, in this touching homage to the theatre. And the invitation had two main reasons, the first being the friendship and trust they shared, and the second the fact that, as Lourdes recalled, Manuel had been the prompter on the 1954 production of the play and knew all the lines by heart. In truth, that year had been magical and symbolic for Lourdes Castro – it was the year of her first painting exhibition, together with José Escada, at the old room in Centro Nacional de Cultura, as she was also a member of Fernando Amado’s theatre troupe. Years later, when Manuel Amado’s series The show is about to begin (2004-2007) was first exhibited, Lourdes could not refrain from elatedly proclaim, as a generous tribute to their lifelong companionship: "Applause, applause. Manuel has returned to the theatre. To the world of the theatre. To the empty theatre”. At the time, she no doubt remembered the play’s unforgettable dialogue, still fresh in both their memories: "THE MALE DOLL – Light is never wrong! / THE FEMALE DOLL – It is us who get it wrong. / THE MALE DOLL – That is what happens with light. (Pause.) / THE FEMALE DOLL – Listen! Do you ever feel your heart growing so big… that it can hardly fit inside your chest? Ah, I am so small! And within me my heart is waiting, ready to jump out… ready to give itself away… and that moment never comes!...” As we reread Almada Negreiros, we recognize the light and the shadows that have always been the vital elements in Manuel Amado’s painting — we walk along his paths and understand that frail but intense connection that leads us to Lourdes Castro’s shadows, to the passion of representation, and to the realization that true creative work is a search for the essence of art.