At the start of my three-year journey of traveling, researching, writing, and photographing for my book, Patterns of Portugal—an exploration of the country s visual culture—a conversation with Luísa Souto de Moura played a crucial role in shaping the project’s tone. Souto de Moura, an esteemed architect and proprietor of Duas Portas, a tranquil eight-room boutique hotel in Porto, shared her profound insights on what sets Portugal’s visual language apart. “Our style is plain, but it has its own poetry,” she summarized. Portugal’s craft ethos is rooted in its distinctive history. While many European nations were embracing modernity in the late 20th century, Portugal faced challenges under the Salazar dictatorship and grappled with economic hardship. “We had to find a way to use what we had; local tools and materials,” Souto de Moura elaborated. “The world became modernized and everything started to look the same, but not here in Portugal.”
Tucked away on the edge of the Atlantic, where dappled sunlight and ocean breezes kiss the shores and old-world romanticism abounds, Portugal’s diminutive size defies its weighty historical significance. Tales of conquering heroes and seafaring legends are reflected through its richly tiled artworks, storied architectural elements, and the Roman and Moorish ruins that lie scattered throughout its bucolic countryside. Once one of the richest empires in Europe, Portugal has also been one of the continent’s poorest countries, experiencing a drastic swing of fortunes through its centuries of civilization.
As a photographer, I was instantly drawn to the country’s unique palette and rich use of pattern, and especially intrigued by the way the same hues seem to echo throughout the country. The blue-and-white azulejos are reflected in the sunbaked beaches and enchanting blue water of the Atlantic coast. The fuchsia and gold of bougainvillea in bloom are mirrored, though timeworn and softened, in the colorfully painted facades of pastel homes. Color and pattern exist in a symbiotic relationship. While color might first catch the eye, it is often within the details of patterns that the full story comes to light. Patterns provide context to the colors and are used to communicate stories. Many of Portugal’s decorative motifs include elements from battles, sea voyages, conquests, village life, and Catholicism, the country’s predominant religion.
A famous example can be seen at Porto’s São Bento Railway Station, where Jorge Colaço, one of Portugal’s foremost azulejo artists, created blue-and-white panels of tiles illustrating scenes of daily life, such as the hay harvest, alongside murals of the country’s history, including one particularly detailed rendering of Prince Henry the Navigator during the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa.
Many of the colors seen in the country’s architecture and art find their inspiration in the palette of Portugal’s natural world. From Costa Azul to the Algarve, the southern coast is known for its strikingly blue waters, pristine beaches, and plunging sandstone cliffs. The landscape is echoed in the bleached white buildings, terracotta roofs, and simple architecture of the area’s charming coastal towns. Clean lines and soothing colors abound. The Mediterranean color scheme creeps into urban life as well, with Lisbon’s sunny yellow trams winding through the streets, and its buildings covered in sea-green and sky-blue azulejos. As you venture north, the palette drifts toward the lush greens of the terraced Douro Valley and verdant Vinho Verde region, and the deep golds, burgundies, and olives of the area’s abundant harvests. The result is a fluidity of color that meanders through Portugal’s countryside, coast, small towns, and cities.
.jpg)
Throughout the three years dedicated to crafting this book, I embarked on road trips spanning nearly every corner of Portugal, weaving from the honeyed fields of Alentejo and sparkling shores of the Algarve, to the heart of cosmopolitan Lisbon and verdant valleys of the Douro. My path was ever-changing; a dynamic itinerary shaped by the invaluable insights and guidance of my Portuguese hosts and guides. But it was Luísa’s words that lingered in my mind throughout my journey. Amidst the landscape, a distinctive poetry unfolded—a poetry singular to Portugal, revealing the essence of its unparalleled charm and character.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Photos reprinted with permission from Patterns of Portugal, by Christine Chitnis, copyright © 2024. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
.jpg)
