Born in Leça da Palmeira, Agostinho Salgado died in his hometown on 25 April 1967. A graduate of Porto’s School of Fine Arts, he was a technical teacher and curator at the Soares dos Reis National Museum from the 1940s until his death. He devoted himself above all to consolidating and restoring the Museum’s painting collection.
He was a pupil of António Carneiro, José de Brito, Acácio Lino and Joaquim Lopes. He began his artistic activity as a tile painter at the Fábrica de Cerâmica do Carvalhinho in 1932.
Agostinho Salgado’s oeuvre has a naturalistic character and his main themes are landscapes and portraits. He was most inspired by the rural landscapes around Porto and Braga, where he spent some of his holidays. In his portraits, almost all of which were commissioned, such as those he did for the University of Porto or the Matosinhos Town Hall Library, he tried to reveal the psychological profile of those he portrayed.
Agostinho Salgado’s oeuvre does not fit in with the modern trends of his time, but demonstrates a perfect mastery of technique, where he shows great quality. Among his activities, he also collaborated with the Portuguese magazines ‘Museu’, ‘O Tripeiro’ and ‘Lusíada’.
Although most of his paintings belong to private collections, he is represented in various institutions such as the Grão Vasco Museum in Viseu, the Abade de Baçal Museum in Bragança, the Matosinhos Town Hall and the Soares dos Reis National Museum.
Image: Oil on canvas ‘Raparigas Minhotas’ (Girls from Minho), by Agostinho Salgado, 1945 @Soares dos Reis National Museum