Born in Lisbon in 1925, António Charrua attended the Architecture course at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes de Lisboa, but from an early age, he preferred the plastic arts, namely painting and sculpture.

He held his first solo exhibition in 1953, in Oporto, and later settled in Évora. He was awarded a grant by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in 1960. In the 1970s and 1980s, Charrua decided to stop exhibiting in Portugal, and Switzerland became the country of his choice where he exhibited assiduously.

His representation in the famous Hurschler Collection and Lafranca Collection was decisive for his internationalisation, which led him to participate in exhibitions in important museums in Europe and the USA. In 1990 he returned to Portugal and, among other distinctions, was awarded the Medal of Municipal Merit (Gold Class) in the city of Évora in 2000. Charrua has distinguished himself as an excellent painter, but also as a draftsman, engraver, ceramist and sculptor.

He is represented in important national and foreign collections.

António Charrua passed away in 2008, in Évora.