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U.Porto Memory

University of Porto Famous Alumni

Eduardo Tavares

Eduardo Tavares 1918-1991 Sculptor

Eduardo Augusto Tavares was the son of António Joaquim Tavares. He was born on 24 July 1918 in the wine region of S. João da Pesqueira.

In the 1930s, he worked in the workshop of the sculptor António Teixeira Lopes, in Vila Nova de Gaia (now Casa-Museu Teixeira Lopes). In 1938, encouraged by his master, he enrolled in the Porto Fine Arts School. Here, he was taught by Teixeira Lopes and Acácio Lino, Pinto do Couto and Joaquim Lopes.

In the 1940s, he joined the exhibitions of the Grupo dos Independentes [a group of independent artists], founded in 1943 and formed by Fernando Lanhas, Nadir Afonso and Júlio Pomar, among others. In 1946, he completed the Sculptor course with the piece Toupeira Douriense, and passed with a final mark of 19 out of 20. From 1947 to 1948, he taught at technical schools. With a scholarship from the French government, he attended a course at the École Nationale des Beaux Arts of Paris.

His work from the 50s includes a large number of head sculptures representing individualities from artistic and cultural circles.

In 1960, he was admitted as a teacher at the Porto Higher Institute of Fine Arts, sitting the Aggregation exams in 1962 with the sculpture Maturidade [Maturity], and passing with merit. He only left this school twenty three years later.
In the 60s and 70s, he was commissioned to produce many public works and participated in group exhibitions.

Besides the teaching and sculpture activity, he wrote three theory books on art: Do "Número de Ouro" à Figura Humana; Da Geometria de Miguel Ângelo na Capela Sistina: Giotto, Piero della Francesca, Verrocchio, Botticelli, Perugino, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Ticiano, El Greco and Anatomia Artística, the latter published posthumously.

He died in Porto in 1991, at the age of 73.
Four years after his death, the Faculty of Fine Arts organized an exhibition in his honour.

In 2003, the Eduardo Tavares Museum was formally opened in his hometown. This museum was donated to the Douro municipality of S. João da Pesqueira and aims to disseminate his work. Set up in a noble house from the 18^th century in República Square, in the historical centre of the town, it was once used as the city hall and jail and nowadays also houses the Tourism Board, a small library and an archaeology centre. The works exhibited were produced between 1952 and 1982 and are from the workshop of Eduardo Tavares. For this reason, the sculpture exhibition simulates the artist’s workplace, where we find many plaster pieces, models, maquettes, drawings and working tools.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2008)