Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro was a Portuguese artist known for his illustration, caricatures, sculpture and ceramics designs.

He was disciple of his father, the painter Manuel Maria Bordalo Pinheiro and brother of painter Columbano. He started publishing his illustration and caricatures in humoristic magazines like A Berlinda, O Calcanhar de Aquiles showing an ironic, often sarcastic, humour mocking politics or social and cultural situations. In 1875 travelled to Brazil to work as illustrator and cartoonist in a review called Mosquito and there he also became the editor of other humorous, political critic magazines. His fame as a caricaturist brought the invitation of Illustrated London News to become one of his collaborators.

In 1885, he founded a ceramics factory in Caldas da Rainha, where he created many of the pottery designs for which this city is known.

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