Alfredo Cristiano Keil (3 July 1850 – 4 October 1907) was a Portuguese composer, painter, poet, archaeologist and art collector.

At the time, the art world was moving towards Realism and Naturalist generation, but Keil still gained success with his melancholic intimate scenes and landscapes.

Despite never becoming a full-time painter – also developing interests in poetry and musical composition – he continued painting and exhibiting throughout his life, and left hundreds of works.

[3] Keil stood in close contact with composers such as Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni and Jules Massenet – the latter the dedicatee of his successful opera Serrana.

In 1890 , Keil was provoked by the British ultimatum to Portugal to compose the patriotic song A Portuguesa, with lyrics by poet and playwright Henrique Lopes de Mendonça.

[5] It was a work in three volumes, inspired by the legends and traditions of the area of Ferreira do Zêzere, where Keil had spent much time and where he wrote the opera Serrana.