Talk About Tiles!

Talk about tiles!  Tiles, called azulejos in Portuguese, are everywhere in Portugal!  On the facades of churches…

… on the facades of shops…

…on the facades of businesses…

… and on the facades of homes.

Beautiful tiles are also used on the inside walls and surfaces…

…often in the most breathtaking way.  Here are some of the painted tile murals in the São Bento railway station in Porto.  Note the dude in the bottom right‒these tile murals are huge!

As I walked around the streets of the big cities of Porto and Lisbon and smaller cities like Aveiro, Viana do Castelo and Ovar, I was amazed by the variety.  With all those lovely colors and patterns set in interesting historical buildings there was no shortage of photo opportunities.

But why are so many of Portugal’s homes and buildings decorated with tile?  Here’s the explanation provided by the city of Ovar.  “Although there is no definite proof of this, some art historians sustain that there is a correlation between the strong Portuguese migratory flux to Brazil, and later return of these emigrants, with the increase in the demand for tiles and ornaments for building decoration. … The flamboyance tiles bestowed onto the building was one of the best ways to demonstrate the acquisitive power and social status of its proprietors, while these also enjoyed other advantages associated with the use of tiles in covering of external walls: resilience, durability, light reflection and easier upkeep.”
The city of Ovar proudly claims the title of “Living Museum‒City of Tiles” due to the quantity and diversity of tiled facades from the 19th and 20th century still existing in the city.  Ovar has created a self-guided walking tour along the main tiled facades in the city center.  This route showcases “Tile’s Street” which is a series of tile carpets on the benches and sidewalks of the main squares.

Ovar’s Tile’s Street is supported by a handy booklet which includes an explanation of the various techniques used to decorate tiles.  It was fun to look for evidence of process in the tiles (see my post Admiring Evidence of Process to learn about this approach to viewing pottery).  Some tiles, like the breathtaking murals in the São Bento railway station (shown earlier in this post), are obviously hand painted.  Here’s another pretty example from Porto showing a butterfly and flowers.

Three other techniques are called out in Ovar’s Tile’s Street booklet: stencil technique, transfer print decoration and relief.  The first technique, stenciling, is the most common in Ovar.  Stencil technique entails using stencils to add color to the raw glazing base.  Each color requires its own stencil.  Here’s an example of a stenciled tile from the 19^th/20^th centuries.  Ovar’s Tile’s Street booklet notes the production technique of these tiles is stenciled but a closer look (especially at the dots in the 4 corners) makes me think some hand painting was involved.  Apparently, elements of a design were often connected with a brush after the motif was stenciled onto the tile.

The consistency of the below design suggests it was entirely stenciled.

The second technique, transfer print decoration technique, entails mechanically pressing a paper print on the surface of the tile either before or after the glazing has been fired.  This technique was limited to only one color but was faster and easier to produce.  The below tile appears to have been made with transfer print decoration.

The third technique is relief.  Instead of having a flat surface, the motif is raised on a relief tile.  The surface texture is obtained by filling wood or plaster molds with clay or pressing the clay mechanically.  This decoration technique is one of the rarest to be found in facades because the process is more complex and labor intensive.  Below is an example of relief tiles.

As I wandered around drinking in Portugal’s beautiful tiles, I noticed that often the tiles on a building’s facade were in better shape than the building itself.  This is quite the testament to the durability of tiles but it must present a difficult challenge to the folks trying to maintain Portugal’s rich tile heritage.  It also leads to some interesting photos.

To wrap up, I’ll circle back to the tile I featured at the top of this post.  This was my favorite design‒I love the energetic pattern and bright colors of this tile.  Sadly, I sighted it on an abandoned building with the front door boarded up.

More Info

The Visit Portugal website has a post called In the Country of Tiles highlighting some of the top places to see tiles.
The Museu Nacional Do Azulejo (National Tile Museum) in Lisbon has a magnificent collection of azulejos and describes their historical, technical and artistic evolution in Portugal. You can see the museum’s collection online via Google Arts and Culture under The National Azulejo Museum.
The Center of Portugal Tourism site features a Porcelain Route and provides information about the tiles of Aveiro, Ovar and other places in central Portugal.
You can learn more about the São Bento Railway Station in Porto on the Timeout website.

I was so inspired by my recent trip to Portugal that I wrote a series of blog posts about what I learned and experienced.  Check out:
. Tied in Knots in Portugal about the bobbin lace traditions of Vila do Conde.
. Following the Yellow Arrows which recaps my first 110+ km Camino walk.
. Making Curls and Swirls with a Filigree Master about my experience making a traditional Portuguese filigree heart.
. Talk About Tiles! (this post).
. Lavish Lalique in Lisbon which looks at the René Lalique Collection of Art Nouveau jewelry at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.
. Lines and Patterns in Wrought Iron shares a variety of wrought iron designs spotted in Portugal.

Today’s Takeaways

1. Look for characteristics which are noteworthy and representative of your surroundings.
2. Research to learn about the processes used to make art, craft and design.
3. When viewing a large collection or body of work, look for similarities and differences across the individual pieces.