Carvalho the Draftsman: Studies Celebrating Art Reborn After Major Disaster

Cropped section of the drawing "Allegory to the Royal Wedding" by Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho. Courtesy of the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon, Portugal. Public Domain

Portuguese artist Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho (1729–1810) was not only a painter of distinction, but also a draftsman, and his drawings show how he helped to rebuild Portugal’s artistic heritage after one of its greatest disasters, the earthquake of 1755.

An exhibit of 17 of his drawings is now on display at the National Antique Art Museum in Lisbon, Portugal. The drawings in this exhibition are studies for his work on church ceilings and altarpieces, which demonstrate the painter’s unique style.

Rebuilding an Artistic Landscape

With an estimated 8.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, an earthquake occurred about 120 miles from the coast of Portugal on the Feast of All Saints, Nov. 1, 1755. The seismic event almost completely destroyed Lisbon and surrounding areas. Over 90 percent of buildings collapsed, were burnt by fires, or flooded by the tsunami that followed.