José Manuel Ramalhão Fortunato, was born in Oporto in 1946, graduating in Mechanical Engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico, in Lisbon. He is a senior member of the Portuguese Engineers’ Association.

Fortunato is an autodidact and has long painted with pastel. He initiated painting with oil in 1997. He is an associate member of the ISMP - International Society of Marine Painters (USA).

His first individual exhibition took place in April 1999, at Marina de Lagos, organised with paintings on the Western Algarve.

Collective exhibition at Marina de Lagos, in April 2001, oil painting on theme from Alentejo.

Individual exhibition at the Engineers’ Association, in Lisbon, included in the “Paintings by engineers” cycle, in February 2003.

Serigraphs “Barragem do Fratel” and “Marina de Lagos” for MSF, in December 1999.

Serigraph “Fonte dos Amores”, in April 2000

Edition of the book “Lagos a Três Tons” in December 2000, with a retrospective of Marina de Lagos’ painting exhibitions in 1999, by Paula Varona, Carlos Solano and José Fortunato.