Gare Marítima de Alcântara
Almada Negreiros was invited to create the eight mural panels in this hall and begun preparatory studies for them in 1941. The station building was completed in 1943, and the mural paintings in 1945.
In these, Almada explores two separate themes: national mythology — although derived from popular tradition — and a more realistic portrait of riverside Lisbon. Each of the two triptychs and of the two isolated panels is accompanied by a description that serves as its title.
On one of the walls, the isolated panel is entitled Ó terra onde eu nasci [O land where I was born] and the three panels of the triptych have the city of Lisbon as their theme, with the title Quem não viu Lisboa não viu coisa boa [Whoever hasn't seen Lisbon hasn't seen a good thing], which shows, among other things, the hard work of the women coal carriers.
On the other wall, three panels make up a triptych with the title Lá vem a Nau Catrineta que traz muito que contar, which comes from the popular poem Nau Catrineta, collected and published by Almeida Garrett in the 19th century. It recounts events involving a 16th-century ship’s crew, although Almada’s version updates the characters, bringing them closer to his contemporaries from the 1940s. The isolated panel is devoted to the national legend of Dom Fuas Roupinho, but the lower half of the composition is dominated by men and women from a fishing community, at work or at rest.