José Aurélio’s monumento ao trabalho - monument to labour, 1993 or the work as allegory of Almada’s history

The aim of the present article is to address critically an emblematic work in the artistic path of the sculptor José Aurélio (1938-) – Monumento ao Trabalho (Monument to Labour), 1993, his first monumental piece commissioned by the city of Almada, within Lisbon area, Portugal. The analysis of the sculpture will allow us to demonstrate that the reading of public art is subject to several external factors that go beyond language, namely the social and territorial realities that embody it