Manuel Castro (Born 1945) was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. He paints scenes of Portuguese traditional labour activities and rural life with great detail. Castro is a self taught painter who started his career in 1987. In his CV Castro includes more than 30 honorable mentions and distinctions. He is considered by art critics as one of the best European Naïf painters. His work his held at the “Arte Naive Museum” in Lousã, Portugal, the “Art Naive International Museum, Jaén”, Spain, the “Cultures and Evangelization Foundation”, the “Portuguese Foundation for Communication”, Lisbon, Portugal, and at the “Information Cultural Centre for Azeite (Olive Oil)” in Lisbon, Portugal. They are also held in many public and private collections throughout Europe. In 2006, the artist had a solo exhibition at the "Monte Seis Reis Art Gallery” in Estremoz, Portugal.
From 1987 he has been participating in several collective exhibitions in several countries, namely, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, United States of America and Italy. He is a great source of inspiration to many upcoming artists. He’s always on the lookout for new styles and techniques because he’s open to learning. Castro has been an artist for several years. This profession has allowed him the freedom to work on commercial assignments, while also giving him time out to travel a lot in search of beauty. He’s interested in capturing feelings or emotions of his viewers, and so he uses his art a means through which he communicates his inner feelings to his viewers.
