Cristiano Cruz

His early works date from 1909, when he was living in Coimbra. The following year, he moved to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, to study veterinary medicine. He then joined the group that founded the Society of Portuguese Humourists, which included, among others, Stuart Carvalhais, Jorge Barradas, José Pacheko, and Almada Negreiros. Cruz participated in the Humourists' Salons of 1912 and 1913 in Lisbon, receiving a very positive reception from the press and his work was featured on the cover of the catalogue of the 1913 Salon. Through his search for a type of "impersonal caricature" he sought to overcome the stereotypes of social and customary caricature, in the process influencing others, including Negreiros. He contributed to several periodicals, notably the magazines Sátira (1911),^[3] A Bomba (1912),^[4] and A Farça (1909-1910).^[5][6][7]

From 1913 his style evolved, becoming more expressive, paving the way for the final phase of his work. In 1915, he began experimenting with painting in small-format works, further questioning his initial rigid and ascetic drawing to discover the potential of expressionism, in which colour played a fundamental role. He participated with nine of these works in the First Exhibition of Humourists and Modernists in Porto, but the critical reception was less favourable than it had been in Lisbon. For the following year's exhibition, he sent just a single work.^[6][7]

In 1917, Cruz joined the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps fighting in World War One. He created a series of works thematically linked to the war. Together with Diogo de Macedo he illustrated a book by Augusto Casimiro called Nas Trincheiras da Flandres (In the Trenches in Flanders). From 1918 he further developed his approach, which was considered advanced for the time. Always limited to small formats, these works were his most important contribution to the expressionist movement. However, fed up with the repetition of cartoon graphics and critically unpopular painting, Cruz suddenly left for Mozambique in 1919. The following year, he still submitted works to the Humourists' Exhibition but after this he dedicated himself exclusively to veterinary medicine.^[1][6][7][8]

Cruz died in Silva Porto, Angola on 21 October 1951.^[6]

A retrospective of his work was held in 1993 at the Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro Museum in Lisbon.^[2] Among others, his work is held by the Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado^[9] and the Gulbenkian Centro de Arte Moderna,^[1] both in Lisbon.