José Júlio Ferreira, also known as Zé Júlio, was born in 1925 in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. In 1949, he moved to Mozambique, where he worked as a lighthouse keeper and gained the nickname "the lighthouse painter". From 1957, he attended drawing and painting classes at Núcleo de Arte, which was considered an artistic embassy as it was the first association in Mozambique to simultaneously develop various artistic disciplines such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, and dance. During his time there, he was a student and disciple of João Ayres, and had the opportunity to interact with renowned artists of the time, including the painter Malangatana. In 1960, Zé Júlio held his first solo exhibition, but he had already participated in collective exhibitions alongside artists such as Rui Amaro and Álvaro Passos at João Ayres' school in 1958. In 1977, he returned to Portugal and settled in Lisbon. Zé Júlio's work is featured in the book "Arte e Museus em Moçambique" by Alda Costa.