Born in Portelas, Avintes, in 1920. He did primary education at the Cabanões School, secondary education at the Faria de Guimarães School (Soares dos Reis) and entered the Oporto School of Fine Arts, UniversityofOporto, where finished the course brilliantly, with the final classification of 18 values.The final thesis of the course was about"Nuno Alvares Pereira", one of the best-known Portuguese knights. During the course he was distinguished with the "Teixeira Lopes" and "Soares dos Reis" awards. Then he wentto Paris in the company of hiscolleague, the famous painterJúlio Resende. There he attended several sculpture courses and learned the“fresco” technique.
He participated in several group exhibitions, at Ateneu Comercial ofOporto, withIndependentes, three years in a row, in Caladas da Rainha, in Viana do Castelo, at S.N.B.A (National Society of Fine Arts) and in the exhibition of the Portuguese World in Mozambique.
Manuel Pereira da Silva started his activity as a sculptor in the atelier of sculptor Henrique Moreira, while a recenttrainee at the Oporto School of Fine Arts. Henrique Moreira was at that time, in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s the only artist, in the city of Porto, who lived exclusively from his artistic activity, all the other artists were mostly secondary school teachers, Manuel Pereira da Silva was secondary school teacher between 1949 and 1991. During the period he worked at Henrique Moreira's atelierhe collaborated with him in the realizationof theLow-reliefs of the RivoliTheatre and the OportoColiseum, and also in the“Monument to the Heroesof the Peninsular Wars” in Rotunda da Boavista, inOporto, where he worked with Sousa Caldas, Lagoa Henriques and Mário Truta.
He set up a studio on Rua Afonso de Albuquerque, in Gaia, and later transferred it to Avintes. He had a creative proximity withsome colleagues and artist friends, such as Aureliano Lima, Reis Teixeira, Fernando Fernandes and Arlindo Rocha, with whom he shared his studio, a relationship marked by passionin relation to the workof art, are what you could callsome very private routecompanions. It reflected the taste of working together, sharing, exchanging ideas and socializing outsidethe studio space in theOportocafés.
Manuel Pereira da Silva developed his art in a time of great artistic renewal. Pontifical painting in Pablo Picasso's aesthetics and sculpture was influenced by the works of Auguste Rodin and Constantin Brancusi. In this boiling broth of innovation, Manuel Pereira da Silva, like any other artist, dared and dreamedof creating an original style.
He is the author, among others, of the followingartworks:
- Sculpture by General Ulisses Grant, 18th President of the United States of America between1868 and 1872, in Bolama, Guinea-Bissau(commissioned by thePortuguese Government).
-Low-relief in Polychrome Ceramicsin Luanda, Angola (commissioned by the Portuguese Government).
- Evocative frescoes of the“Passion of Christ” in the Main Chapel of the Churchof Santa Luzia in Viana do Castelo;
- Sculpture of the imageof Nossa Senhora da Areosa, in Areosa Church, inOporto;
-Low-relief in Pedra Ança by“D. Pedro Pitões exhorting the crusaders” at the Palaceof Justice, inOporto(commissioned by the Portuguese Government);
- Bronze sculpture“A Maternidade” at Praça Marquês de Pombal, inOporto.
- Fresh mural of “White Snow” on Rua Santa Catarina, in Porto.
- Sculpture for the Fuel Station (Shell, now Repsol) on theA1, in Gaia,
- Monument of Homageto the Furniture Manufacturers, made by the City Councilof Paredes;
- Monument to Fernando Couto in Sandim;
- Monument to the farmerin Gulpilhares;
- Monument to FatherAraújo in Avintes;
- Monument to the Athletein Avintes;
- Monument to Firefightersin Avintes, Gondomar and Freamunde;
- Bust of Homageto the Journalist Fernando Pessa;
- Bust of Homageto Prof. José Hermano Saraiva;
- Bust of Tribute to Major Valentim Loureiro, made by the Municipality of Gondomar;
- Bust of Homageto Joaquim José de Carvalho, Presidentof the Administrative Commission of the Municipalityof Palmela, in Palmela;
- Bust of Homageto Francisco Viana;
- Bust of Homageto the Sculptor Henrique Moreira;
- Bust of Homageto Dr. Adriano Sá Figueiredo;
- Bust of Homageto the painter Luís Reis Teixeira;
- Bust of Homageto Dr. Adelino Gomes, Clube Recreativo Avintense;
- Bust of Homageto Dr. Francisco Fernandes, Clube Recreativo Avintense;
- Bust of Homageto the SculptorAlves de Sousa in front of the Town Council and the Church of Vilar de Andorinho;
- Bust of Homageto the Writer Fernando Araújo Lima;
- Bust of Homageto the Sculptor Fernando Fernandes;
- Bust of Homageto Father Luís Gonçalves de Pinho Rocha, in Largo da Lavandeira, Oliveira do Douro;
- Commemorative medal of the foundationof Vila de Avintes;
- Commemorative medal for the centenaryof the Almeida e SousaTheatre, Avintes;
- Commemorative medal of the 70th anniversary of Grupo Dramático Musical Recreativo e Desportivo Restauradores Avintenses;
- Commemorative medal of the 100 years of the Associationof Mutual Aid Restauradora Avintense;
- Commemorative medal 100th anniversary of Clube Recreativo Avintense;
- Commemorative medal of the 75 years of the Grupo Mérito Dramático Avintense;
- Commemorative medal of the diamondweddingof Futebol Clube de Avintes;
- Commemorative medal of the 60th Anniversary of the Volunteer Firefighters of Avintes;
- Broa de Avintes Brotherhood Medal;
- António Sérgio High School Medal;
- Medal in honor of Fernando da Conceição Couto;
- Commemorative medal for the centenaryof Journalist Fernando Pessa;
- Medal commemorating the centenary of FatherArtur Assunção Saúde.
The work Manuel Pereira da Silva has abstract aesthetic tendencies, whose main theme is the humanfigure and as subthemes: man, woman, couple, family, motherhood. In general, the creative process begins with one or more drawings on paper, A4 sheet thatcan then be changed to a larger format of cardboard, then can be moved to the canvas, first drawingin pencil on the canvas and then painting, using various materials: gouache,watercolour, Indian ink, or oil.Finally, in a sculpture, first made in clay and then in plaster in analuminium structure, only turning it to bronze ifhe has an order. The purposeof all these studies made in drawings, mostly the ballpoint pen (Bic), which can be in pencil or crayon, is to transform them into sculptures.
Manuel Pereira da Silva's first modernist sculptures emergedin the pioneering years of sculptural abstractionism in Portugal. Portuguese abstract art is historically linked to “independent” exhibitions, whose main organizer and animator, Fernando Lanhas, is coincidentally the central figure of this abstractionism. Afteran I Exhibition, in April 1943, at the premises of theOportoSchool of Fine Arts, where the presenceof the future “hard core” of the“independents”, such as Júlio Resende, Fernando Fernandes, Nadir Afonso, Arlindo Rocha, Altino Maia, Mário Truta, Serafim Teixeira, Augusto Tavares and Manuel Pereira da Silva. The“independent” exhibitions start to take place outside the School and, severaltimes, outside Oporto. This movement would only make sense because of the situation formed by the Directors of theOportoSchool of Fine Arts in the 1940s, where Dordio Gomes, in Painting, Barata Feyo, in Sculpture, and Carlos Ramos, in Architecture, alloweda new breath, breathing the vanguards that continued to assert themselvesin Europe.
InOporto, studentsfrom all courses, Architecture, Painting and Sculpture, lived closely together, not only because they had common preparatory studies, but also because the three Arts were considered inseparable. There were discussions about Modernism in Art, and a latent disagreement with classical teaching. There are countless examples of close collaboration between visual artists in architectural works. In collaboration with Architect Carlos Neves, Manuel Pereira da Silva creates a fresh mural decoration of the shoe store“White Snow” on Rua Santa Catarina, inOporto and two decorativefigures in buildings in the Jardim do Marquês de Pombal, inOporto.
In the African territory under portuguese colonial rule, less subject to pressurefrom the cultural canons of the Estado Novo and at the same time with more needs for urban construction, there was spacefor portuguese artists to freely explore the Modern Movement. SeveralPortuguese architects, especially those fromOporto School, tried to make the buildingscomplete works, integrating architecture and art - tile panels, glazedtile murals, ceramic panels,engraved marble murals, inlaid pebble murals, figurative drawings and abstract, geometric shapes,colours. Manuel Pereira da Silva was also part of this modern movement, in sculpture, with works carriedout in Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Angola. Participates in the Portuguese Life and Art Exhibitionin Lourenço Marques, Mozambique (1946). In 1955, Manuel Pereira da Silva designed the statue to UlyssesGrant, 18th President of the United States, winner of the public tender launched for this purpose, by the Ministry of Overseas, erected in front of the building of the Paços do Concelho de Bolama, in Guinea-Bissau. In 1960, Manuel Pereira da Silva made, "Africa", thislow-relief, in polychrome faience, intendedfor the decoration of the facadeof a building located on the marginal of the Bay of Luanda, Angola.
A sculptor with a high sensitivityto social issues, Manuel Pereira da Silva put his talent at the service of various associations or civic movements and was an example of generosity, description in gestures and commitmentto building citizenship and democracy.
On April 13, 1987, it was assigned to him, by theTown Assembly of Avintes,the Medal of Honor and in 2000 the Gold Medal of Cultural Merit by the Municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia.