“A Pompadour” Advertisement, Maria Keil

This image is an advertisement made by Maria Keil for A Pompadour, a women's lingerie company. According to her biography page on Tipografos.net, Keil was part of the second generation of modernist artists in Portugal, and did a variety of work, including painting, illustrating, interior design, tile composition, and graphic design (Tipografos, “Maria Keil”). Her graphic design work is seen especially in her decorative art and advertising. This advertisement in particular was made when working with the  Estúdio Técnico de Publicidade (Technical Studio of Advertising) (Digital Magazine, “Women in Graphic Design in Portugal”) . Keil was one of the first Portuguese women designing in the advertising sphere. 

The establishment of the “Estado Novo” dictatorship under António de Oliveira Salazar in 1932, and its subsequent fall in the 1970s, brought various developments to the design sphere in Portugal, including its role in government for propaganda, and its expansion to a larger audience as it become more recognized as a profession (Research Gate, “Portuguese Design History”) . There were many designers during this time contributing to the evolving visual culture of Portugal. 

The mid-to-late 1900s, in the midst of major societal/governmental change and industrialization, saw the rise of a handful of female graphic designers in Portugal, entering into this previously male-dominated space.