Portuguese art: Portuguese azulejo

Azulejo is the Portuguese word to describe a square ceramic plaque with decorations and glaze on one side. Azulejos have transcended their utilitarian decorative function in Portugal to become one of the most expressive art forms of Portuguese culture. They exist in vast quantities throughout the country as well as in the Portuguese empire including Brazil, Africa and India*. Although azulejos do not originate from Portugal their extensive uninterrupted use for over five centuries, covering large surface areas on both the inside and outside of buildings, mean they have become representative of developments in Portuguese art for the last 500 years. Azulejos show influence from numerous cultures, from the first Moorish style designs to the European plant and animal themes of the Gothic and Renaissance and inspiration from the fabrics of India and the Orient. However it is the distinctly Portuguese tile production of the 17th century golden period that sees the true development of azulejos in Portugal, a tradition that was reawakened, in a modern manner, in the urban development of the 1950s