João da Silva

João da Silva was a Portuguese sculptor of national importance. He first worked as an apprentice in a workshop and at the same time attended a school where he was trained as a stonemason. He later studied at the Industrial School of Príncipe Real. Around 1900 he continued his studies abroad, at the School of Industrial Arts in Genève and at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, where he graduated in sculpturing and medal-making.

After returning to Portugal in 1906, da Silva worked as a sculptor, goldsmith, and medalist, and taught for some time at the Escola Marquês de Pombal. Despite the prospect of obtaining a professorship, he went back to Paris and remained there until 1932, visiting Paris regularly even after his definite return to Portugal.

Da Silva first became known as a medalist and designed the first gold coin of the Republic in 1916. As a sculptor, he created the Bust of the Republic for the constituent assembly, a work that is now lost, as well as several monuments to the victims of World War I. However, he created small formats such as animal figures in stone, bronze, plaster, and porcelain. Da Silva also worked as a goldsmith and silversmith for high-level clients. His last work was the reverse of a medal commemorating Henry the Navigator.

Da Silva participated in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad and was awarded several prizes. In 1941 he wrote an essay on the “Golden Section in equestrian statues”. In 1952 he and his last wife, the pianist Maria do Pilar Sérgio da Silva (1880-1960), donated the house with his studio for the establishment of a museum. In this building the militant republican and freemason da Silva died in 1960. The bronze sculpture The Acrobat, which he exhibited in 1952, was created as early as 1928.