Born in Caldas da Rainha (28 April 1855), José Malhoa died in Figueiró dos Vinhos, on 26 October 1933.
He was a pioneer of Naturalism in Portugal, being member of the Portuguese collective Grupo do Leão. He also stood out for being one of the Portuguese painters who came closest to the Impressionist artistic movement.
He attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Lisbon between 1867 and 1875. He was a student of other nationally renowned painters and sculptors such as Miguel Ângelo Lupi (1826-1883), Vítor Bastos (1832-1894), Tomás da Anunciação (1818-1879) or José Simões de Almeida (1844-1926).
José Malhoa divided his life between Lisbon and Figueiró dos Vinhos, where he lived in a house better known as cocoon of Malhoa.
Disapproved twice for the State scholarship in Paris, he temporarily abandoned painting until, in 1881, the painting A Seara Invadida em Madrid (The Invaded Harvest in Madrid) gained him critical appreciation.
As one of the founders of Grupo do Leão, he joined the Naturalist movement generated around Silva Porto. He exhibited at the Sociedade Promotora de Belas-Artes (1880, 1884, 1887), the Grupo do Leão (1881 to 1889), the Grémio Artístico (1891 to 1899) and, since 1901, he was a regular presence in the salons of the National Society of Fine Arts. He received the Medal of Honor (1903) and several First Medals from this Society and was elected its President in 1918.
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Self-portrait of José Malhoa (1928) @Museu José Malhoa