Ramalho, Rosa

Portugal, 1888-1977

Rosa Ramalho is one of the most important Portuguese ceramists who left a profound influence on the history of the clay figures of Barcelos. She triggered the passage from anonymous artistic production to the one of authorship, having been encouraged to sign her work by the professor and painter António Quadros. While she created her first clay figures as a child, it was only after becoming a widow in the decade of the 1950s that she started systematically presenting and selling her production at the local and regional fairs in the North of Portugal. Her art can be divided into two categories: the one that reflects the rural universe of the Minho region, composed of Christs, processions and Popular Saints and the one that is inhabited by her fantastic and surreal creatures. Her works are integrated in various collections of Portuguese Museums and the imaginary world that she has created can be traced in the work of her descendants, Júlia (granddaughter) and António Ramalho (great-grandson).

Source: Arte Popular Portuguesa de Ana a Zé