Bertina Lopes was a Mozambican-born, Italian painter and sculptor. Lopes' work displays a deep African sensibility with saturated colours and bold compositions of mask-like figures and geometric forms. She has been acknowledged for highlighting 'the social criticism and nationalistic fervour that influenced other Mozambican artists of her time'.
Personal life
Lopes was born in Maputo, Mozambique, on July 11, 1924 to an African mother, whose family was locally known, and a Portuguese father, who was a fieldworker. She was educated in Maputo, but after her second year of senior high school, she relocated to Lisbon to complete secondary school, where she studied painting and drawing with Lino António and Celestino Alves and earned a degree in painting and sculpture. Around that time she met artists such as Marcelino Vespeira, Carlos Botelho, Albertina Mantua, Costa Pinheiro, Júlio Pomar and Nuno Sampayo. In 1943 Lopes returned to Mozambique, where she married poet Virgilio de Lemos, with whom she had twin sons. Lopes taught Artistic Drawing at General Machado Girls’ Technical School for nine years. Although she was appreciated for her innovative teaching skills, these would occasionally enter in conflict with the school ruling system. In 1955 de Lemos published an anticolonial poem that resulted in a trial for desecration of the Portuguese flag. He subsequently joined the Mozambican Resistance and was arrested for subversion. The events reinforced Lopes' sympathy for the weak and oppressed fringes of the population – a subject that would often recur in her art. In 1956, Lopes painted a mural called "Pavilhão da Evocação Històrica" which was inaugurated on the occasion of an official visit of António de Oliveira Salazar to Maputo. Three years later, she was nominated president of the “Nùcleo de Arte” of Maputo and Vice President of “Direcção” of “Nùcleo de Arte”. Due to her association with de Lemos, and with the outbreak of the Mozambican War of Independence in sight, Lopes was forced to leave Mozambique in 1961. After a short period of time in Lisbon, she moved to Rome. In 1964 she married Francesco Confaloni, a computer engineer and art lover. During those times she befriended some of the protagonsits of the Italian art scene, including Marino Marini, Renato Guttuso, Carlo Levi and Antonio Scordia. In 1965 Lopes obtained Italian citizenship. In 1979 Lopes paid a visit to Mozambique for the first time since her departure, and in 1982 her work was the subject of a large exhibition at the Museu Nacional de Arte Moderna in Maputo. In 1986 her first retrospective opened at Palazzo Venezia in Rome. In 1993 she was honoured as Commander for Merits by the President of the Republic of Portugal Mario Soares in Lisbon. In 1995 Lopes was the winner of the Gabriele D'Annunzio Prize in Rome. In 2002 she was honoured by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for her contributions to the art. Lopes' last public appearance was at the Venice Biennale in 2011. She died in Rome in 2012 at the age of 86. Mozambican PresidentArmando Guebuza described Lopes as 'a humble, creative, combative and generous woman, who always demanded of herself that she surpass her previous achievements'.
Work
Lopes' work was influenced by multiple sources, including Mozambican art and Portuguese modernism. Between 1946 and 1956, she embraced the art of Western painters and South Americangraffiti artist. Following Picasso's death in 1970, Lopes paid tribute to him with an intense painting that symbolized political repression in Spain. Once Lopes became grew closer to antifascist circles, she started opposing the idea of "arte negra and found inspiration in the poetry of Noémia de Sousa, incorporating social themes into her work. Lopes’ work was also deeply influenced by the political events that affected her home country, in particular during the period that followed the independence and the civil war between FRELIMO and RENAMO.
Awards
1950 – Painting Prize, Lourenço Marques 1953 – Medalha de Prata, Lourenço Marques 1953 – Prémio Empresa Moderna, Lda., Lourenço Marques 1958 – First Classified, Beira 1974 – Trullo D’Oro, Fasano di Puglia, Brindisi 1974 – La Mamma nell’arte, Comunità di Sant’Egidio, Rome 1975 – International Painting Prize, International Center of Mediterranean Art and Culture, Corfu 1978 – Leader d’arte. Campidoglio, Rome 1986 – Venere d’Argento, Erice, Trapani 1988 – Grand Prix d’Honnoeur, European Union of Art Critics, Rome 1991 – Rachel Carson Memorial Foundation World Prize, Rome 1992 – La Plejade per l’Arte, Rome 1993 – Commander for Merits, appointed by Mario Soares, President of the Republic of Portugal, Lisbon 1994 – Centro Francescano Internazionale di Studi per il dialogo fra i popoli, Assisi 1995 – Gabriele D’Annunzio Prize, Pescara 1996 – Messaggero della Pace UNIPAX Prize, Rome 1998 – Premio Internazionale Arte e Solidarietà nell’Arca, Florence 1998 – Frà Angelico International Prize, Rome 2002 – Silver Plaque by the President of the Republic of Italy, Rome
