Modern Interlude: Theatre and Dance​,​ the António Soares Work

The exhibition, featuring over 150 original works—some never before exhibited to the public—the show gathered some of the most significant pieces António Soares created for the stage, encompassing both theater and dance. The exhibition included models for backdrops and sets, costume designs, studies for curtains and stage decoration, as well as portraits of renowned actors and actresses, reflecting the artist's immense versatility. The museum's director, José Carlos Alvarez, also sought to imbue the gallery with a theatrical atmosphere by adding black curtains that evoked the stage space. A contemporary of Almada Negreiros and Jorge Barradas, António Soares is considered one of the most important Portuguese painters of the first half of the 20th century. It was precisely between the 1910s and the 1930s that he produced the majority of his works for the stage—a period during which theater in Portugal underwent a profound transformation, particularly in terms of its visual aesthetics. Following a visit to the *Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes* in Paris in 1925, his work began to incorporate an Art Deco sensibility inspired by Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism. He extended this style to the graphic arts, *Teatro de Revista* (revue theater), and spatial and interior design, establishing himself as a designer of vast influence. The exhibition at the MNTD thus served to restore to this artist—so often overshadowed by Almada—the recognition due for his singular contribution to the aesthetic renewal of the Portuguese stage.