Modern bodies from stage
Silva Nogueira's portraits of Portuguese actors in the collection of National Theatre Museum
A new gaze to the new woman
Since the 1920s, Silva Nogueira's began an innovative aproach to actors portraiture with a modern gaze that reflected the change in Portuguese theater.
Constança Navarro by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
The spontaneous smile of the young actress captured by Nogueira is the symbol of the Portuguese actors' new generation.
Brunilde Júdice by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Brunilde Júdice was one of the most influential Portuguese actresses of the 1920's and 1930's and an example of the change to modern.
Brunilde Júdice by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
We can compare this image with similar and contemporary portraits of Hollywood actresses.
Brunilde Júdice (1934) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
The change in the photographic set of Nogueira's studio was a significant aspect of the evolution of his portraiture. The new art deco geometric look was perfect to highlight the modernity of the pose of the smoking actress.
Brunilde Júdice by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Francis Graça by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
The dancer Francis Graça was one of the first Portuguese male dancers and he developed a long and serious modern work on body nudity and pose with Silva Nogueira.
Francis (1931) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Francis Graça by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Most of Francis photographs with Silva Nogueira were exercises for his choreographic work.
Corina Freire e Francis Graça by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Francis and Corina Freire gave a major contribution to the renewal of the vaudeville Portuguese scene, called Revista à Portuguesa.
A cosmopolitan pose for an international career
Silva Nogueira operated significant transformations in the actors images. In Corina's case she was ready to start a career in Paris' cinema studios and vaudeville shows.
Corina Freire by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Corina Freire started her career as a discreet lied singer.
Corina Freire (1934) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Silva Nogueira operated a huge transformation turning Corina Freire's image into a more cosmopolitan look.
Corina Freire by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
The modern image of Corina lead her as a star of French film industry plateaux and to stage in Paris' cabarets.
Ruth Walden by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Ruth Walden was a leading dancer of the early 1930's, Francis' partner on stage here portrayed in a beautiful lightning set that enhances the modernity of her pose and expression.
Maria Sampaio (1933) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Silva Nogueira used sophisticated photographic technical resources to capture expressions and poses such as this of the young actress Maria Sampaio.
Maria Sampaio (1933) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Even using a sophisticated portraiture technique, he was able to capture spontaneous expressions.
A panoply of image resources
Silva Nogueira experimented with a wide range of techniques and resources to create images of strong impact.
Julieta Valença (1933) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Portraiture of actresses also had a fashion dimension, as in this portrait of the young actress Julieta Valença, and fashion accessories also contributed for a modern look.
Maria Paula by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Silva Nogueira also worked for the cinema and here we can see a part of his lighting set as well as an issue of the French vanguard magazine L'art Vivant in the hands of Portuguese film star Maria Paula.
Georgina Cordeiro by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Mariamélia by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
In the portraits of the fado singer Mariamélia, Silva Nogueira experimented a different approach, therefore exploring a more decadent look that the Portuguese popular music genre inspired.
Maria Cristina (1933) by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
A sophisticated look became the signature images of Silva Nogueira portraiture as in this Maria Cristina's photograph.
Maria Helena de Andrade by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Silva Nogueira often used games of shadows and highlights to dinamize his compositions as in this portrait of the actress Maria Helena.
Beatriz Costa by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
Beatriz Costa was one of the most popular Portuguese actresses and with Silva Nogueira she experienced new and sophisticated looks.
Beatriz Costa by Silva NogueiraNational Theatre and Dance Museum
She even tried with Silva Nogueira some discreet suggestions of nudity as she was experiencing on stage.
Amália Rodrigues by Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil, LisbonNational Theatre and Dance Museum
As a Pinnacle of his portraiture, Silva Nogueira was in charge of the first big assignment of the fado singer Amália Rodrigues' images.
In conclusion, Silva Nogueira's portraits of Portuguese stages stars were an important tool to work poses for the scene and simultaneously the testimony of a profound change, particularly in vaudeville theater, towards a cosmopolitan modernity during late 1920s and 1930s.
Museu Nacional do Teatro e da Dança
Photographs by Joaquim da Silva Nogueira, Fotografia Brasil
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