The best things to do in Cascais in October

The Exemplary Girls was written by the Countess of Ségur in 1858. The children's book by the Russian author—who wrote this and many other adventures about well-born girls who behave terribly—now lends its name to the new exhibition at Casa das Histórias Paula Rego. Curated by Catarina Alfaro, it features the female figure, both in childhood and adulthood, as the protagonist and presents, for instance, the hand-coloured lithographs The Salmon-Coloured Dress and Communion, inspired by poems by Adília Lopes. The exhibition, which is open until the end of January 2027, also includes works from the "Jane Eyre" (2001-2002) and "Pendle Witches" (1996) series, influenced respectively by the work of Charlotte Brontë and Blake Morrison, as well as the six prints of "Female Genital Mutilation", a 2009 series that denounces practices of gender-based violence affecting girls in various parts of the world.

Coinciding with As Meninas Exemplares, Casa das Histórias Paula Rego’s long-term exhibition O Exilado: da criação à conservação is dedicated to the technical study and restoration of a work – a process that usually takes place far from visitors’ eyes. The work in question is the painting-collage O Exilado (Um velho exilado sonhando a sua juventude), from 1962-63, shown for the first time in Portugal and accompanied by images and behind-the-scenes explanations of the research and conservation process. The study revealed hidden collages, compositional changes and layers of materials that help shed new light on the Portuguese artist’s creative process.