Figure 1.--Following the end of the Estado Novo era (1974) Portugal underwent significant economic development and major social changes. Initially, progress was difficult and slow before joining the European Union. This was especially the case outside the large urban centers. This is a photo taken in 1982 in the Tras-os-Montes region of northern Portugal by French photographer Georges Dussaud. A reader tells us "I took my first trip to Portugal in September 1979 by car with some friends. The weather was warm, and the school year had not yet started in Portugal. We crossed northern Spain and entered Portugal from those regions on our way to Porto. I don't remember the exact places anymore, but I was struck by the fact that I didn't see a single child wearing shoes in any of those small mountain villages."

We do not know much about Portuguese photography. Portugal is a small country which limits the photographic record. And it was one of the poorest country's in Europe which further limited the photographic record. The enormous wealth that flowed into the country as a result of the country's maritime outreach and resulting empire came and went without leaving any economic impact. Photography was developed primarily in France and Britain, but as in most countries, the technology and equipment was imported. A few studios were established in Lisbon and other cities (1850s). Here we are primarily interest in portrait of families and children. The general poverty of the population meant that only a small part of the population could afford to have portraits taken. Nor we know of any photographers who began taking images as an art form and hobby, capturing images of the people. We have not yet found and been able to archived any 19th century photographs. There were some and the illustrated magazine O Occidente Revista Illustrada de Portugal e do Estrangeiro addressed photographic developments before lithographic technology existed for publication. 【Silveira Pereira】 It seems to have focused on technological and business developments, infrastructure, as well as the colonies more than the Portuguese people. At the turn of the 20th century the refinement of the lithographic process finally permitted publication of photographic. We see images from A Illustração Portuguesa a weekly supplement to the newspaper O Século. Important photographers at this time were Joshua Benoliel and Aurélio da Paz dos Reis. In addition, Kodak in America made the family snapshot possible. The endemic poverty in Portugal, however, mean that very few families could afford cameras. We have not yet found a photographers that have left substantial records of children and families. We have noted a few foreign photographers working in Portugal. Boletim Photographico was also important in the early-20th century. Important early photographers were Afonso Lopes Vieira, Annibal Bettencourt, Júlio Worm (the first Portuguese woman photographer we have noted), and Maria Lemos de Magalhães, but we have not yet acquired examples of their work. As in other small countries, foreign photographs have also been active. We note the work of French photographer Georges Dussaud (figure 1).

Sources

Silveira Pereira, Hugo. "Harbinger of progress: Portuguese illustrated journal O Occidente in the late nineteenth century (1878-1899)," History y Comunicación Social (2021).

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Created: 8:24 AM 8/9/2025
Last updated: 8:24 AM 8/9/2025