Almada Negreiros photographed at the Mosteiro da Batalha (attributed title)

There are photographic records of Almada Negreiros visiting the Batalha Monastery at least twice, at different times.

We don’t have many details regarding his first trip to Batalha, nor can we determine its specific date. However, in this image, we see a young Almada standing on a balustrade that existed in the exterior patio, next to the main door to the nave of the Monastery. 

The photograph dates probably from 1920, as at the time Almada participated as an actor in the film O Condenado, directed by Mário Huguin, which, at that date, had an outdoor shooting at the Batalha Monastery.

By coincidence, the windows seen in the photograph are precisely those of the Founder’s Chapel. Almada will consider one of these windows (on the left in the photograph) of the utmost relevance for the luminous issues of the painted altarpiece itself. 

ANSA-F-302