Portalegre

Old access to Paço Square, Portalegre.

Seen from Luís de Camões Street, Portalegre.

This is displayed in the Portalegre Tapestry Museum (former Convent of Saint Francis). The tapestry of Portalegre was created in 1947, using node points conceived by Manuel Peixeiro, who had been student of textiles at Roubaix, France. Such nodes allowed to reproduce paintings with great accuracy, including colours, chosen among 700 possibilities (or up to 1200, in more difficult works). Such tapestries are ordered by the painters themselves, or with their agreement. The painters tell how many copies can be issued (5, 6, 10) and check the quality of the work before it is released. Each dm2 of the tapestry has between 2,500 and 10,000 node points (authentic textile pixels), applied with the right colours in the right places according to the painting reproduced. The first tapestry was achieved in 1948 but international acceptance only occurred in 1952, when Jean Lurçat was suggested to tell, between a French tapestry and an authorized "copy" achieved in Portalegre, which he believed to be the French one, and he pointed the one from Portalegre. Many painters decided to order replicas of their works in Portalegre tapestry, which can be found in private collections and many institutions, like the European Justice Court (Luxemburg), the Government of Bad-Württemberg (Germany) and the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Australia).

Displayed in the Portalegre Tapestry Museum (former Convent of Saint Francis). This kind of tapestry has an exclusive purpose of reproduce paintings, ordered or authorized by their authors.

Displayed in the Portalegre Tapestry Museum (former Convent of Saint Francis). This kind of tapestry has an exclusive purpose of reproduce paintings, ordered or authorized by their authors.

Displayed in the Portalegre Tapestry Museum (former Convent of Saint Francis). This kind of tapestry has an exclusive purpose of reproduce paintings, ordered or authorized by their authors.

Displayed in the Portalegre Tapestry Museum (former Convent of Saint Francis). This kind of tapestry has an exclusive purpose of reproduce paintings, ordered or authorized by their authors.

Still standing at Rossio, Portalegre. Its long branches have to be supported with "crutches" to prevent them from breaking.

At Dr. José Frederico Laranjo Square, Portalegre.