Sculpture found rich expression in the magnificent tombs of the 12th and 13th centuries, and late 18th century Baroque wood sculptures, of which the crèches of Joaquim Machado de Castro are the finest, are also outstanding.

The Classical and Romantic traditions of Italy and France left their influence in Machado de Castro in the late 18th century and António Soares dos Reis a century later.
A school of primitive painters headed by Nuno Gonçalves was prominent in the 15th century, and subsequently Flemish artists interpreted the native style, decorating palaces and convents and leaving a rich heritage of religious art.
The 19th century saw another rebirth of national art with a late Romantic period. An era of naturalist realism that followed gave way to rather diffuse experimentation in the 20th century.
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva was the country's finest abstract painter and Carlos Botelho was noted for his street scenes of Lisbon.

Among the decorative arts, the Portuguese glazed tiles (azulejos) are outstanding. Many 16th and 17th century buildings are faced with tiles and the rooms and halls of palaces and mansions exhibit blue and white tiled panels or mofits in other soft colours. Exceptionally fine examples are found in the Pátio da Carranca (pátio = "courtyard") of the Paço de Sintra (Paço = "Palace") at Sintra, São Roque church in Lisbon and the Quinta da Bacalhoa at Vila Fresca de Azeitão near Setúbal.