Artur José (1931-2010) | TILE PANEL “Lisbon Pavement #1”, 1990

Tile Panel ” Lisbon Pavement #1 , 1990

Glazed and enamelled ceramic

Coruchéus Studio, Lisbon

Signed: artur josé 91

92 x 57 cm

Ref: AJ.#748.c.2021

PORTUGUESE PAVEMENT – LISBON’S UNIQUE STREET TILES

Unique street tile art of Lisbon, Portugal was the inspiration for a serie of ceramic tile panels developed by Artur José during 1990 decade. The tiles, appropriately called Portuguese pavement or calçada portuguesa, come in many mosaic patterns. Even today they’re painstakingly laid down by hand, following a process created hundreds of years ago. We found these tiles everywhere on the streets of central Lisbon in an incredible variety of artistic patterns.

The origin of the Portuguese street tile is a bit hard to track down, though they first appeared in Lisbon near the Castelo de São Jorge. They became so popular that their use spread quickly throughout the city. Today, the tiles are found all over Portugal, and even in former Portuguese colonies, including Macau, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil.