Jorge Silva - João Carlos

João Carlos, born in Ílhavo in 1899, was a multifaceted figure: hygienist doctor, science communicator, poet, essayist, and visual artist.

Writing as Celestino Gomes, he published on science and literature; as João Carlos, he painted, illustrated and carved, portraying the fishing community of Ílhavo with a distinctive, ornate, perspective-free style inspired by Hokusai, the Primitives and Eastern art. Working outside official modernism, his art blends folklore, medical history and religious themes, forming a deeply humanistic and spiritual body of work. He died in Lisbon in 1960.