Gabriel del Barco: the influence of a Spanish painter on Portuguese tile work (1669-1701)

Abstract

Gabriel del Barco was one of the most important tile painters working in Portugal during the transition from the 17^th to the 18^th centuries. This period is considered to be one of preparation preceding the great, emblematic era of Portuguese tile production during the 18^th century. Spanish born, Gabriel del Barco arrived in Lisbon when he was about twenty, and established himself there first as a painter of ceilings and later, as a tile painter. Articles on aspects of his life and work (relatively well-known), have been published, but they have provided only a fragmentary vision of this artist. Thus, this study unites numerous dispersed materials with the addition of heretofore-unknown documents concerning the painter. The author also offers a re-evaluation of the tiles painted by Barco by analyzing his signed tile panels, assisted by the use of new technologies.