Manuel Lapa

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games (non-medal events)
SexMale
Full nameD. Manuel Francisco•de Almeida e Vasconcellos Lapa
Used nameManuel•Lapa
Born20 September 1914 in Lisboa, Distrito de Lisboa (POR)
Died11 December 1979 in Lisboa, Distrito de Lisboa (POR)
NOC Portugal

Biography

Painter, graphic artist and decorator Manuel Lapa belonged to the second generation of modernist artists in Portugal. Although he was the first son of the Count of Lapa, he never held the title of nobility himself. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts in Lisboa where he later taught as a professor.

Like Carlos Botelho, Lapa was a member of the team of decorative artists for the World’s Fair in Lisbon in 1940. In the same year he was appointed Officer of the Order of Christ. He worked for the magazine Panorama and in 1942 took over the position of artistic director of the magazine Atlântico. As a participant in numerous exhibitions, he received several awards.

In 1948, Lapa was employed by the Museum of Popular Art, executing murals throughout the country. In 1953, he directed the illustration and publication of Guia Olisipo: Roteiro da Cidade de Lisboa (Olisipo Guide: Lisboa City Tour), a regularly published city guide. In the following year, he acted as artistic director of the exhibition celebrating the quadricentennial of the city of São Paulo. In 1969, together with other artists, Lapa founded the Institute of Art, Decoration and Design (IADE) in Lisboa. He completed his last mural in the year of his death in the atrium of the Palace of Justice in Torres Novas.

Lapa was a specialist in the revival of medieval iconography and a master of light and shadow. In the 1950s he drew animal portraits for the covers of Diana, a hunting and fishing magazine, two of which were exhibited as gouaches in Helsinki.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1952 Summer Olympics Art Competitions POR Manuel Lapa
Painting, Open (Olympic (non-medal)) AC
Painting, Open (Olympic (non-medal)) AC