Popular art expresses the passion and verve emanating from the rich imagination and the social, political and religious experiences of its creators. In Portugal, this art of the people also conveys deeply seated, idealistic views of national identity, history and character.
Much Portuguese popular art focuses on three amorphous places: Heaven (the world of the saints, grace and salvation); Hell (the domain of the Devil, dystopia, annoyance and mischief); and Somewhere In Between (a country called Portugal whose denizens grapple with good and evil every day). Popular art evokes and gives...