Lisbon - S. Cristovão 1937

Carlos Botelho painted "Lisbon - S. Cristovão" with what looks like oil, giving us a glimpse of the city through his eyes and hands. It’s all about the process, you can see how he built up the layers, each stroke adding to the texture of the buildings and sky. The materiality of this piece is what grabs me, the way the paint is applied thick in some areas, like the rooftops, and thinner in others, giving it all a kind of rough beauty. See the bell tower near the center? The way the light hits it just so, making the colors shift and change. It’s as if Botelho wanted to capture not just the look of Lisbon, but the feeling of being there. He reminds me of Giorgio Morandi, with his focus on the subtle shifts in tone and color, but Botelho brings a different energy, a sense of life that feels distinctly Portuguese. This painting isn't about answers, it's about questions.