Azenhas do Mar

Raimundo da Silva Machado da Luz (Ponta Delgada, 1903 - Lisbon, 1985) was a Portuguese painter and art teacher. Machado da Luz stood out for his work of social nature that was the forerunner of Portuguese neo-realism. He graduated from the Escola Superior de Belas Artes in Lisbon, where he settled, attending teaching career and later in his career as an educational inspector. He was a student of Carlos Reis and Veloso Salgado. Received the 1st Medal in painting of the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes in 1957. In parallel he taught at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, having been director from 1959 to 1962, and President of the Grupo de Artistas Portugueses. He had an unconventional course, not agreeing with the artistic canons of the Estado Novo and producing a work where he enlarge the paintings with the theme of women and landscapes, having been, according to Fernando Pamplona, "one of our best and most original Modern landscapers ". He was married to Maria José Estanco, the first woman who graduated in architecture in Portugal.