Biography of António Pedro Vicente
António Pedro Vicente, a graduate in History from the University of Lisbon, earned a doctorate at the University Paris X–Nanterre in 1974. During his stay in Paris in the early 1970s, he lived at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris, first at the Maison du Portugal and later at the Maison du Maroc after the birth of his daughter. He held various academic positions, becoming a full professor of Contemporary Portuguese History at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (1991–2008). His research focuses on 19th-century Portuguese history and its international relations. He also held institutional roles: advisor at the National Laboratory of Engineering and Technology (1979–1981), cultural advisor at the Portuguese Embassy in Madrid (1982–1986), and President of the Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies. He received the Calouste Gulbenkian History Prize in 2001 and was awarded the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword in 2015.
Biografia d’António Pedro Vicente
António Pedro Vicente, formado em História pela Universidade de Lisboa, obteve um doutorado na Universidade Paris X-Nanterre em 1974. Durante sua estadia em Paris, no início dos anos 1970, residiu na Cité internationale universitaire, primeiro na Maison du Portugal e depois na Maison du Maroc, após o nascimento de sua filha. Ocupou diversos cargos acadêmicos, tornando-se professor titular de História Contemporânea de Portugal na Universidade Nova de Lisboa (1991-2008). Suas pesquisas concentram-se na história de Portugal no século XIX e em suas relações internacionais. Também exerceu funções institucionais, atuando como conselheiro no Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia e Tecnologia (1979-1981), conselheiro cultural na Embaixada de Portugal em Madri (1982-1986) e Presidente do Instituto de Estudos Ibéricos e Ibero-Americanos. Recebeu o Prêmio Calouste Gulbenkian de História em 2001 e foi condecorado com a Ordem Militar de Sant’Iago da Espada em 2015.
I am a student by nature, until death.
Sou um estudante por natureza, até morrer.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
Designed by architect José Sommer-Ribeiro, the Maison du Portugal was inaugurated in 1967 under the name Maison des étudiants portugais. It was funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and has borne the name André de Gouveia since 1974.
