No Centro da Periferia: Os Independentes do Modernismo Português

This paper seeks to address the origins and trajectory of the so-called independents of Portuguese Modernism on which it aims to shed new light by establishing a direct connection between the Grupo dos Artistas Independentes born in Ma- deira in 1918, and the Independents’ movement which made itself known to Lisbon audiences and critics with the 1923 exhibition at Sociedade Nacional das Belas-Artes. We base our argument on the journey of the three Madeiran artists, Francisco Franco, Henrique Franco and Alfredo Miguéis, from their studies as bursary holders in Paris, to their intellectual gatherin- gs at the Golden Gate in Funchal, to their participation in the 1st Exhibition of Modern Painting and Sculpture of Funchal in 1922. Neglected by Portuguese art historiography this unprecedented although isolated exhibition which was the prelude to the Cinco Independentes exhibition the following year, is a key element of this study.