Bordallo Pinheiro

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Wwb Banana Prata Madeira (Special Order)

The universe of an artist is always characterised by aesthetic and territorial references. This applies to Nini Andrade Silva, who in Banana Prata Madeira, a masterpiece created exclusively for Bordallo Pinheiro, forming part of the official commemorations of the 600th anniversary of the Discovery of Madeira, draws inspiration from the vast geographic territory where she was born. In this piece, Nini merges her stroke with Bordallian naturalist aesthetics through the delicate and original reinterpretation of the sensorial inheritance of Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro. The white that envelops Banana Prata Madeira, dramatically finished with a black stripe, contrasts with and also alludes to the universe of living colours of Bordallo Pinheiro, used, simultaneously, to enhance the expressiveness and exuberance of the shapes. A perfectly balanced exuberance, which skilfully alludes to a characteristic element in the works of the author: the pebbles of the beaches of the Island of Madeira. Banana Prata Madeira, florid figure that also symbolises the region as a source of culture, history and knowledge, is the second piece of the WorldWide Bordallianos project, after Figo of Paula Rego, comprising a limited edition of 125 numbered copies.

Portugal's most beloved cartoonist of the 19th century, Bordallo Pinheiro was famous for creating the character "Ze Povinho," a rustic laborer who was kind to his friends and contemptuous of those with money and power. His artistic style blends the honesty realism of late 19th-century Arts and Crafts movement with the dramatic, even grotesque, features of Goya's earlier paintings.

In 1884, he and his son founded an eponymous factory in Caldas da Rainha along the Portuguese coast to create whimsical and naturalistic faience pieces based on his art. Because of the special minerals in the local soil and the skills of the craftsmen in the area, Caldas da Rainha is well-known as the capital of Portuguese pottery. Today the factory takes Pinheiro's original style into the 21st century with satirical portraits of modern day celebrities, while continuing its old fashioned, made by hand tradition of Portuguese pottery making.