Nadir Afonso | |
|---|---|
 2007 digital portrait of Afonso | |
| Born | Nadir Afonso Rodrigues 4 December 1920 |
| Died | 11 December 2013 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Education | Escola Superior de Belas Artes do Porto, Oporto École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris |
| Known for | Painting, Architecture |
| Notable work | Cities series |
| Movement | Geometric abstract art (also Kinetic art, Op art) |
| Awards | Order of St. James of the Sword,[1] Portuguese Academy of Fine Arts |
| Patron(s) | Portinari, Vasarely, Léger, Auguste Herbin, André Bloc, Le Corbusier |
Nadir Afonso, GOSE (4 December 1920 – 11 December 2013) was a Portuguese geometric abstractionist painter. Formally trained in architecture, which he practiced early in his career with Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, Nadir Afonso later studied painting in Paris and became one of the pioneers of Kinetic art, working alongside Victor Vasarely, Fernand Léger, Auguste Herbin, and André Bloc.[citation needed]
As a theorist of his own geometry-based aesthetics, published in several books, Nadir Afonso defended the idea that art is purely objective and ruled by laws that treat art not as an act of imagination but of observation, perception, and form manipulation.
Nadir Afonso achieved international recognition early in his career and many of his works are in museums. His most famous works are the Cities series, which depict places all around the world. He was known to have painted into his later years and died on 11 December 2013 at a hospital in Cascais.[2] During his life he achieved great honors, representing his country at the finest level.
- ^ "Exhibition at Lusiada University" (in Portuguese). May 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
- ^ Morreu o pintor Nadir Afonso, mestre da abstracção geométrica (in Portuguese)