José Pádua was born in the city of Beira, Moçambique, in 1934, residing in Lisbon since 1977. He was elected Plastic Artist of 1966 by the newspaper A Tribuna de Moç ;ambique, for the work he developed as a painter, decorator, illustrator and engraver.

Between 1974 and 1978 he worked exclusively for the R. Rennie Art Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

From 1979 to 1981 he received a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, attending metal engraving and lithography courses. In 1980 and 1981 he was awarded 2nd. and 1st. Awards, respectively, in exhibitions on Lisbon themes.

He also has works in the area of sculpture and tiles, as well as cement murals in Johannesburg at the Bank of Lisbon & South Africa and in Mozambique at the airports of Mavalane and Beira, Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor, Montepio de Moçambique, Commercial and Industrial Credit Bank, swimming pools at the Beira Railways Sports Complex, Banco de Moçambique and Novocine Cinema.

It is Representedinnumerous private collections in Portugal and abroad, namely in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Spain, Sweden, South Africa Austria, Brazil, Venezuela, USA, Canada, Israel, Japan and Australia. In addition to having participated in several collective exhibitions, he was part of the group A Tertúlia de Artistas de Moçambique which has exhibited every year, since 1984, in several countries around the world. He passed away at the age of 81 in Amadora, in 2016.