Figurado:
Living heritage of Portugal
In Casa Atlântica, we have always been interested in popular art in its most authentic form — the kind that is born from intuition and the need to tell stories. Within this universe, the Figurado of Barcelos holds a very special place for us.
Born in the north of Portugal, the Figurado emerged from the domestic workshops of rural potters: figures such as animals, saints, demons, and impossible creatures that seem to spring from dreams or from collective memory. Each piece, painted in vivid colors and with uneven gazes, preserves something deeply human — the innocence and the strength of the popular when it becomes art.
Júlia Côta. @foto: Arte Popular Portuguesa
Júlia Côta. @foto: Arte Popular Portuguesa
Born in the north of Portugal, the Figurado emerged from the domestic workshops of rural potters: figures such as animals, saints, demons, and impossible creatures that seem to spring from dreams or from collective memory. Each piece, painted in vivid colors and with uneven gazes, preserves something deeply human — the innocence and the strength of the popular when it becomes art.
Rosa Ramalho. @foto: Cruzes Canhoto
We are not speaking here of the rooster everyone knows, but of the more expressive and symbolic Figurado, like that of Rosa Ramalho (1888–1977) and her universe of human figures, bestiaries, and beings between the sacred and the fantastic — hybrids that seem to contain humor, faith, and social critique all at once. Her pieces are a portrait of the people, but also a lucid and powerful gaze upon the human and the divine.
Figures by Prazeres Côta
That spirit — the freedom of form, the value of the handmade gesture, the blend of innocence and expressive strength — is something with which we deeply identify. Each of these figures holds something of a talisman: a presence that does not seek perfection, but meaning, elevating folk art to a poetic and symbolic dimension, without ever betraying its popular roots or its freedom.
Piece by Rosa Côta. @foto: Cruzes Canhoto
Piece by Rosa Côta. @foto: Cruzes Canhoto
That spirit — the freedom of form, the value of the handmade gesture, the blend of innocence and expressive strength — is something with which we deeply identify. Each of these figures holds something of a talisman: a presence that does not seek perfection, but meaning, elevating folk art to a poetic and symbolic dimension, without ever betraying its popular roots or its freedom.
Piece by Rosa Ramalho. @foto: Cruzes Canhoto
At Casa Atlântica, that spirit is with us — it inspires the way we look at the world: with reverence toward matter, but also with irony and a desire for truth. In the Popular Figurado, each piece holds a story, a myth, a collective emotion. And within each of them lies a lesson: beauty is not found in perfection, but in the living presence of the one who made it.
And perhaps soon we’ll be able to share something very special with you, related to this unique universe that has us utterly enchanted… A hint: something is being molded!