Luciano Freire

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Luciano Martins Freire (1864–1934) was a Portuguese painter and art restorer from Lisbon. He painted landscapes and scenes of daily life, with some Symbolist touches. In 1886 he studied history painting at the Academia Real de Belas-Artes, learning from teachers like Miguel Ângelo Lupi, and was influenced by the naturalist Antonio da Silva Porto. His first exhibition was in 1887, and he began by painting portraits. His work Catraeiros (boatmen) earned him a nomination as Academic of Merit in 1895, though it was lost at sea returning from the Exposition Universelle in 1900. He later made works about industrialization, which he opposed, and drew the development of the Cascais railway line. Freire taught drawing at the Academia Real from 1896 to 1933 and was its Secretary from 1900 to 1910. He traveled to France and England to study museums and to promote preservation of Europe’s art heritage, especially Portugal’s early painters. He helped restore the Saint Vincent Panels (1909–1910) and helped organize efforts to inventory and improve ancient Portuguese painting. He supported the First Portuguese Republic and helped separate church and state by cataloging royal palaces and religious orders. In 1911 he became Director of the National Coach Museum and helped found the National Museum of Ancient Art. He was awarded Commander (1920) and Grand Officer (1929) of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword. He died in Lisbon at 69, never married, and is buried at Prazeres Cemetery. His works are in the National Museum of Contemporary Art and the José Malhoa Museum.