Lino António da Conceição was a Portuguese artist known for his Modernist frescoes. He made many friezes, frescos, stained glass and ceramic panels for public buildings in Portugal. He taught in several schools and was director for many years at the Escola Secundária Artística António Arroio in Lisbon, having an influence over hundreds of artists, mostly painters and designers.
Life
Lino António da Conceição was born in Leiria on 26 November 1898. His parents were Lino António da Conceição and Maria do Carmo Pereira Dias da Conceição. He had two older sisters and two younger sisters. He spent time in the studio of his teacher and friend Narciso Costa. He took a course in Ornamental Design at the Industrial School of Domingos Sequeira in Leiria, then attended the Lisbon School of Fine Arts, where he was a brilliant student. On 1 October 1915 he enrolled at the Porto School of Fine Arts, where he studied under João Marques de Oliveira. By 1917 António was attending the "modernist gatherings" of Porto students described by the sculptor Diogo de Macedo, often held in the Excelsior café. In 1918 he organized his first solo exhibition, in Leiria, where he showed his decorative style and modernist technique. He became port of a group that included the future architect António Varela, the artist Luís Fernandes, the poet Américo Durão and the doctor and writer Américo Cortez Pinto. António married Maria Helena de Noronha Tudela in the 1920s, and they would have three children. His 1924 exhibition in Lisbon at the National Society of Fine Arts was praised by Contemporânea and Athena. His work at this show included the themes of coastal people, Nazareth and urban living to which he would return throughout his career. In the years that followed he participated in numerous exhibitions, made friezes, frescoes, stained glass and ceramic panels for various public buildings and illustrated several books. António taught in the General Industrial and Commercial School of Marinha Grande, and then became a professor of mechanical design in the Machado de Castro Industrial School in Lisbon. By the end of the 1930s he was obtaining public orders for his work, which allowed him to live fairly comfortably. He was quoted as saying "Praise? I preferred an commission!" He began to teach at the Antonio Arroyo School of Decorative Arts in 1940. Among his students was the painter, sculptor and poet Figueiredo Sobral. He became director of the school in 1953 and overhauled the curriculum to include fine arts, lithography, decorative painting, sculpture and pottery, carving and artistic furniture. He was forced to retire due to his age in 1968. In 1974 he suffered a stroke while working in his studio, and died in hospital two days later on 23 October 1974.
Work
Lino António was representative of the second generation of modernist artists. He liked vibrant colors and robust forms. His paintings show a strong sense of decoration. He explored themes of fishing, religion and history in his panels and frescoes. In his later years he devoted himself to stained glass, mosaic and ceramic.
Exhibitions
António participated in over forty Salons and exhibitions, including:
