GLAMA STRÖBERLE, João - b. 1708 Lisboa, d. 1792 Porto

Portuguese painter of German origin. After studying with Vieira Lusitano (1669-1783) and other painters in Lisbon, he left for Rome in 1734 in order to perfect his level of artistic knowledge. There, he attended the famous Academy of St. Luke, where he won the third prize of the first Class of Painting in 1739, and established contact with the workshops of renowned Italian masters. He was also a member of the Arcadia Romana, where he used the pseudonym Pastor Talarco Alessiano.

After his father’s death in 1741, he returned to Portugal. In Lisbon, he is in charge of the decoration of the murals of the Teatro Real do Paço, and was also responsible for projecting the monumental mausoleum used in the funeral of King João V. He witnessed the earthquake of 1755 (having even painted an allegorical picture alluding to the natural catastrophe).

He later settled in Oporto, where he left a considerable amount of paintings of profane and religious nature.

The Earthquake in Lisbon

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, occurred in the Kingdom of Portugal on Saturday, 1 November, the holy day of All Saints’ Day. In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost totally destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Estimates place the death toll in Lisbon alone between 10,000 and 100,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history.