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One of the art works exhibited

“From the Palace of Belém” Exhibition will be on view in Portalegre

Portalegre will welcome, starting on 4 November in the Church of the Convent of S. Bernardo, the “From the Palace of Belém” Exhibition, organized by the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, in association with the local County Council.

The opening of the exhibition will take place after the ceremony of the presentation of the diploma of the “Europa Nostra 2008” Prize, an award relative to the cultural heritage of the European Union, attributed to the Museum of the Presidency due to the research work carried out on the tangible and intangible heritage of the Palace of Belém, which gave rise to this exhibition.

The ceremony, which will be held in the auditorium of the County Hall, at 18:00 hours, will be presided over by the Infanta D. Pilar de Borbón, President of the Europa Nostra Federation. Mrs. Cavaco Silva will be present at the ceremony.

The exhibition will have more than two hundred pieces of great historical and hereditary value on show and endeavours to make evident the official residence of the President of the Republic.

The Palace of Belém, after being purchased by the Crown during the reign of King John V, was used as a recreation and summer resort by the monarchy and from then on acquired a progressive architectural and landscape value. From 1911 onwards, after being converted to the official residence of the President of the Republic, it became the focal point of political decisions.

The discovery of this History, which started out in the 16th century and continued until current times, was carried out through the re-creation of some of the Palace areas (official cabinet, ceremonial halls and chapel), where rare goldsmith works, painting, sculpture and furniture will be on show.

Outstanding are the pieces of the magnificent Germain dinner service, ordered by King José after the 1755 earthquake, which is one of the main works of art of Portuguese goldsmiths, used for the first time during the reign of Queen Mary I.

Amongst other works on exhibit, also outstanding are: a very rare 18th century Chinese bedspread embroidered with gold thread; paintings by João Vaz and Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro; oriental porcelain from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries; and studies in charcoal and watercolours by Paula Rego, produced when the artist took part in the refurbishment of the chapel of the Palace of Belém, when she graciously painted eight pictures representing the life cycle of the Virgin Mary.