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Article: In a rich riot of colour and ornament, Portuguese Azulejos animate buildings and the public realm.(Delight)
- Article from:
- The Architectural Review
- Article date:
- July 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 EMAP Architecture. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Few things are as characteristic or expressive of Portuguese architecture as its painted ceramic tiles, or azulejos. The notion of covering walls, floors and even ceilings was originally introduced to the lberian peninsula by the Moors (azulejo originating from the Arabic al-zuleycha). From the start of the sixteenth century, as manufacturing techniques improved, Portugal started making its own highly distinctive tiles, synthesizing Islamic geometry. Chinese exoticism and Dutch patternmaking. The baroque era witnessed a flowering of the tilemaker's art, with vivid colours and wide-ranging subject matter - religious scenes, plants, animals, people and landscapes - but the ...