A gravura em Portugal: breves apontamentos para a sua história

A compact yet richly detailed study traces the origins of engraving in Portugal, beginning with the earliest printed books of the sixteenth century. The author shows how foreign typographers, especially the Frenchman Germão Galharde, dominated the market and supplied most of the decorative plates that still adorn rare volumes today. By examining frontispieces, marginalia and surviving prints, the work highlights a handful of pieces that likely emerged from Portuguese hands, offering a glimpse of a nascent local tradition.

Drawing on extensive archival material, catalogues of national libraries and private collections, the author reconstructs the network of artists, patrons and scholars who kept the craft alive. The narrative reveals the hidden treasure of thousands of engravings housed in the Academy of Fine Arts, awaiting systematic study. Readers will come away with a clearer sense of how early Portuguese engraving intersected with broader European currents and why these modest records remain vital for anyone interested in the country’s artistic and printing heritage.