Lisbon - Day 5 - Museu do Azulejo

Since becoming fascinated with the tiles in Madeira I have wanted to go to the tile museum in Lisbon and it was on the last of the Hop on Hop off routes. It's the longest of the routes

and goes through the most modern section of the city. This is the football stadium

Apartment buildings

Part of a train station

The same train station.

A modern take on the blue and white tiles.

The Museum is housed in the church and convent of Madre de Deus.

Trying to avoid a large school group I slid into the temporary exhibit of ceramics first.

The focus was on 1900 to 1920 so there was a lot of Arte Nouveau

but at the end of this room

was this tiled staircase and then I was into what I had come for.

The museum follows the development of tiles from the Moorish, geometric patterns.

The techniques and their development are described.

I overheard one woman say it reminded her of a Persian rug and she was right, they were on the floors like rugs.

The next stage in the evolution was the addition of motifs from nature

starting to add depth

and some shading.

The patterns became more complex

and beyond repetitive shapes

into pictorials

and story telling.

Many of the convent's tiles remain in place

Geometrics

and pictorials.

In passage ways and windows

and in the chapels.

There were also examples of modern tile art. This by Marie Ana Vasco Costa, 2018

I didn't see the face in this until I looked at the photo. By Rita Joao e Pedro Ferriera, 2018.

Some Arte Nouveau. Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, 1905.

And some from the new location for tile art; wall covering from Rossio and Restauradores subway stations

"Shepherds" by Maria Kreil, 1955

There was also a huge panoramic of Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.

Lastly, one for Nicola, as they are all quilt block patterns."Tiles from Oceanario de Lisbon" by Ivan Chermayeff, 1998.