Fernando Pessoa encontra D. Sebastião: num "caixão sobre um burro ajaezado à andaluza" 1985

Curator: Look at this piece! It’s "Fernando Pessoa encontra D. Sebastião: num 'caixão sobre um burro ajaezado à andaluza,'" Julio Pomar's 1985 oil painting. Editor: Whoa, total chaos! It's like a dreamscape after too much cheese. Bright yellows clashing with these muddy browns... definitely eye-catching. Curator: Chaotic is one word for it. I'd call it a spirited engagement with Portuguese identity. You see, it depicts poet Fernando Pessoa meeting King Sebastian, a national myth. The king disappeared in battle and legend says he’ll return to save Portugal. Editor: I do see figures emerging…barely. It’s this explosion of colour and frantic brushstrokes that grabs me. Like trying to grasp a memory that's already fading. So, neo-expressionist, then? Curator: You could say so. It embodies the spirit of the time—Post-Impressionism refusing to be confined. Notice how form dissolves, and emotion rises in importance, how Pomar used these vibrant colours. There is great urgency here. It shows Pessoa and the mythic Dom Sebastiao and places these two important figures on what I see more like the chaos of portuguese society than in a place that makes much more sense. Editor: It’s like two distinct portraits shoved into a paint blender on high speed. One, Pessoa, looks mournful with his hat and suit and a thin ghostly pallette, the other has these really visceral browns and violent brushstrokes to bring in colour to that of the King, its like one had a rough demise compared to the more traditional and thoughtful of the writer persona. Curator: Precisely. This collision, for Pomar, isn't just visual. It's about two powerful national symbols meeting in the collective consciousness, wrestling with national dreams. A question of a long sought after solution. It really transcends literal illustration and tries instead to create emotional engagement. Editor: I appreciate how Pomar avoids clear narrative. It’s like history re-imagined, more felt than understood. That tension keeps pulling me back. Curator: Agreed, it's unsettling but ultimately quite thought-provoking. A brave step beyond a traditional portrait, and a powerful representation of cultural collision. Editor: Well, Pomar certainly left a mark here. Something that sticks in your memory...or perhaps haunts it.