Mário Eloy (15 March 1900 in Algés – 5 September 1951 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

) was a Portuguese expressionist

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. Eloy was born in

. His style shows the influence of painters like

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and, mostly, from the German expressionist painting, that he admired during his staying in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, from 1927 to 1932, especially Karl Hofer. After returning to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, he became the best representative from expressionism in the Portuguese painting. Some of his latter works, like "Enterro" (c. 1940), in his references, seems to anticipate the

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

painting in Portugal. In year 1944, he had to leave painting due to a serious

mental disease A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and spent the rest of his life in a mental institution at

Rio de Mouro Rio de Mouro () is a town and civil parish in the municipality of Sintra, Portugal. It is located at a distance of 15 km from the capital, Lisbon. The population in 2011 was 47,311, in an area of 16.49 km2. References External lin ...

, where he died.

External links

Profile of Mário Eloy at José de Azeredo Perdigão Modern Art Center Official Site (In Portuguese)
Expressionist painters Artists from Lisbon 20th-century Portuguese painters 20th-century Portuguese male artists Portuguese male painters 1900 births 1951 deaths {{Portugal-painter-stub