«We want to be free! Why condemn freedom if good comes out of it?! Being free is an affirmation for everyone in these times, and for artists, at all times. We escape the doctrines that are taught, the master’s impositions, and as much as possible, the influence of schools, because we believe artists only have one school – Nature; one doctrine, and only one – Love»
Manuel Bentes, A Capital, 7th of April 1911
The Portuguese Revolution of 1910 brought very little to the cultural and artistic scene. Open-air Naturalism, epitomized by José Malhoa’s art, remained the preference and dominated the scarce market. Impressionism and other French disruptive experiences were yet to cross the border, and the nearly two dozen scholarship holders in Paris brought little more than academic work and a conservative mindset.
In 1911, José Bentes gathered a group of young artists, his companions from his Parisian bohemian adventures, and organized what was proclaimed the first exhibition of modern art in Portugal, known as exhibition of The Free. The exhibition was held in an art hall belonging to photographer Bobone, it was executed similarly to the previous exhibit held in the Parisian atelier belonging to Nadar, also a photographer. Not many records were kept of the more than 100 art pieces that were exhibited in Bobone’s art hall, besides the rebellious attitude and the initiative displayed by all those involved.
The following years were characterized by a lively succession of exhibitions that, under various names, defended and presented challenging works of art. These pieces aimed to capture the warm environment of Lisbon and Porto. In 1912, the I Hall of Portuguese Humorists was held in the Literary Guild, sponsored by the President of the Republic, who participated in the inauguration. The pieces presented were divided between humorous design, which was found abundantly in the press, and some paintings that, by expressing a new modern approach, presented to the public a new generation that had a desire for renewal — the first modernist generation.
By the end of the decade several other art halls in Lisbon and Porto would help to reveal these talented artists that were going against the 18th century currents that were still very dominant. These new pieces would come to gradually dominate the art scene in the following decades.
Domingos Rebêlo
Retrato de João Soares Cordeiro, 1912, Óleo sobre tela
Museu Carlos Machado
Alegoria da música, Terracota patinada, Colecção particular
Páginas da revista Vida Artística de março de 1911
