Baroque architecture in Portugal lasted about two centuries (the late seventeenth century and eighteenth century). The reigns of John V and Joseph I had increased imports of gold and diamonds, in a period called Royal Absolutism or Absolute monarchy, which allowed the Portuguese Baroque to flourish.
Baroque architecture in Portugal arose on a different timeline from the rest of Europe and was influenced by several political, artistic and economic factors. [1] It begins during a complicated moment, with the financial effort of the kingdom channelled to the Portuguese Restoration War after 60 years of Iberian Union.
Another key factor is the existence of the Jesuitical architecture, also called "plain style" (Estilo Chão).
The buildings are single-room basilicas, deep main chapel, lateral chapels (with small doors for communication), without interior and exterior decoration, with a simple portal and windows. It is a very practical building, allowing it to be built throughout the empire with minor adjustments, and prepared to be decorated later or when economic resources are available. The first Portuguese Baroque does not lack in building because "plain style"” is easy to be transformed, by means of decoration (painting, tiling, etc.), turning empty areas in pompous baroque scenarios. The same could be applied to the exterior. Subsequently, it is easy to adapt the building to the taste of the time and place. Practical and economical.
After the end of the restoration of independence war, and past the crisis of succession between Afonso VI and Pedro II, Portugal was ready for the international Baroque. It started gradually, changing the Mannerist model, trying to animate and modernise the new buildings, using the centred plant and some decoration, such as in the Church of Santa Engrácia in Lisbon, designed by João Nunes Tinoco and João Antunes.
Santa Engrácia is constructed with curves and geometric forms and a centred plant and is crowned by a large dome (completed only in the twentieth century), decorated with colourful marbles and imposing itself to the city.
In the reign of King John V, the Baroque underwent a time of splendour and wealth completely new in Portugal. Despite the destruction wreaked by the 1755 earthquake, several buildings have survived. The Palácio da Ribeira, the Royal Chapel (both destroyed in the earthquake) and the Mafra National Palace, are the main works of the King. The Águas Livres Aqueduct brings water to Lisbon covering a distance of 11.18 miles, with emphasis on the section over the Alcântara valley because of the monumentality of the imposing arches. However, across the country, are still visible marks of the pomp of the time in major or small works.
The gilded woodcarving [2] [3] took on national characteristics because of the significance and richness of the decorations. The painting, sculpture, decorative arts and tiling also experienced great development. [4] One of the most opulent examples of gilded woodcarving from this period, is the Biblioteca Joanina, (Johannine Library, named after King John V) built in the main University of Coimbra old building and tower parade. [5] Numerous less known works exist throughout the country, namely in Viseu, Santarém and Faro. [6]
The Palace of Mafra is the most international Portuguese Baroque building and, following the fashion among European monarchs, reflects the absolutist architecture, like the Palace of Versailles in France. It is a royal palace, a cathedral and a monastery, built after a promise made by the king related to his succession. Designed by João Frederico Ludovice, a German architect established in Portugal, the work began in 1717 and ended in 1730. It is an immense building with two turrets on the façade, after the destroyed turret in the Ribeira Palace, with the basilica at the centre and two bell towers dominated by an imposing dome. Behind that, although it cannot be seen from the street, is the monastery. The set is visible from the sea, working as a territorial milestone, and used as a summer residence for the court. The king wanted to build a church even greater than the Vatican, but after knowing that it took more than a century, he changed his mind. In the whole complex noteworthy are also the library, the six organs of the basilica and the two carillons.
In the north of Portugal there are numerous Baroque buildings. With more inhabitants and better economic resources, the north, particularly the areas of Porto and Braga, [7] witnessed an architectural renewal, visible in the large list of churches, convents and palaces built by the aristocracy.
The city of Porto (classified heritage of humanity by UNESCO) is the city of Baroque in Portugal. It is the working area of Nicolau Nasoni, an Italian architect living in Portugal, drawing original buildings with scenographic emplacement as the church and tower of Clérigos, the logia of the Porto Cathedral, the church of Misericórdia, the Palace of São João Novo, the Palace of Freixo, the Episcopal Palace along with many others.
The Baroque or Baroquism is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo and Neoclassical styles. It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture, art, and music, though Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well.
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestant church with a new architecture that inspired surprise and awe. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675), when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Bavaria and Austria. In the Late Baroque period (1675–1750), it reached as far as Russia, the Ottoman Empire and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Latin America. In about 1730, an even more elaborately decorative variant called Rococo appeared and flourished in Central Europe.
The Manueline, occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manueline architecture incorporates maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral. This innovative style synthesizes aspects of Late Gothic Flamboyant architecture with original motifs and influences of the Plateresque, Mudéjar, Italian, and Flemish architecture. It marks the transition from Late Gothic to Renaissance. The construction of churches and monasteries in Manueline was largely financed by proceeds of the lucrative spice trade with Africa and India.
The Palace of Mafra, also known as the Palace-Convent of Mafra and the Royal Building of Mafra, is a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, some 28 kilometres from Lisbon. Construction began in 1717 under King John V of Portugal and was completely concluded in 1755.
The Church of Santa Engrácia is a 17th-century monument in Lisbon, Portugal. Originally a church it was converted into the National Pantheon, in which important Portuguese personalities are buried. It is located in the Alfama neighbourhood, close to another important Lisbon monument, the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.
The Church of Saint Francis is the most prominent Gothic monument in Porto, Portugal, being also noted for its outstanding Baroque inner decoration. It is located in the historic centre of the city, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Castelo da Póvoa, also Fortress of Póvoa de Varzim, officially Fortaleza da Nossa Senhora da Conceição or Nossa Senhora da Conceição Fortress, is a Portuguese fortress in Póvoa de Varzim rebuilt during the reigns of Peter II and John V to defend the town from privateers, in the site of an earlier fort known as "Forte de Torrão". It is considered a listed property of Public Interest in Portugal.
Matriz Church of Póvoa de Varzim, also Nossa Senhora da Conceição Parish Church is the Mother Roman Catholic church in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. The temple is located in Praça Velha square, in Bairro da Matriz quarter. The church is dedicated to the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Portuguese, the main patron saint of Póvoa de Varzim.
Portuguese architecture refers to both the architecture of Portugal's modern-day territory in Continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira, as well as the architectural heritage/patrimony of Portuguese architects and styles throughout the world, particularly in countries formerly part of the Portuguese Empire.
Portuguese Gothic architecture is the architectural style prevalent in Portugal in the Late Middle Ages. As in other parts of Europe, Gothic style slowly replaced Romanesque architecture in the period between the late 12th and the 13th century. Between the late 15th and early 16th century, Gothic was replaced by Renaissance architecture through an intermediate style called Manueline.
Mateus Vicente de Oliveira (1706–1786) was a Portuguese architect. He studied under the architects João Frederico Ludovice and Jean Baptiste Robillon during the construction of the royal palace at Mafra - Portugal's attempt to rival the Spanish king's palace at Escorial.
The architecture of the Portuguese Renaissance intimately linked to Gothic architecture and gradual in its classical elements. The Manueline style was a transitional style that combined Renaissance and Gothic ornamental elements to buildings that were architectonically closer to Gothic architecture, as is the Isabelline style of Spain. Manueline was succeeded by a brief Early Renaissance phase, closer to Classical canons, followed by the adoption of Mannerist forms. Portuguese Mannerism, specially in secular architecture, is characterised by simplicity in the organisation of façades and relative lack of decoration, being often referred to as Estilo Chão. Even with the arrival of Baroque architecture in the late 17th century, Portuguese architecture continued to use Mannerist forms well into the 18th century.
Rococo architecture entered Portugal through the north, while Lisbon, due to the court pomp, remained in the Baroque. It is an architecture that follows the international taste in decoration, and, as a result of the contrast between dark granite and white walls, has a clearly Portuguese profile. The decoration is naturalist, based mainly in shells and leaves but also with architectural elements and sculpture. Pilgrimage places became fashionable, often built in places of rough prominence, allowing impressive staircases of big scenographic effect. André Soares worked in the region of Braga, and produced some of the main examples such as Falperra Church, Congregados Basilica, the Braga City Hall, and Raio Palace, among many others. The number of buildings and architects is large and, because the north of Portugal was spared from the ravages of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, there is a large number of buildings.
The Igreja de São Roque is a Catholic church in Lisbon, Portugal. It was the earliest Jesuit church in the Portuguese world, and one of the first Jesuit churches anywhere. The edifice served as the Society's home church in Portugal for over 200 years, before the Jesuits were expelled from that country. After the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the church and its ancillary residence were given to the Lisbon Holy House of Mercy to replace their church and headquarters which had been destroyed. It remains a part of the Holy House of Mercy today, one of its many heritage buildings.
Gilded woodcarving in Portugal is, along with tile, one of the country's most original and rich artistic expressions. It is usually used in the interior decoration of churches and cathedrals and of noble halls in palaces and large public buildings. An impressive collection of altarpieces are found in Portuguese churches. Originating in the Gothic era, Portuguese gilded woodcarving assumed a nationalist character during the 17th century and reached its height in the reign of King D. João V. In the 19th century it lost its originality and began to disappear with the end of the revival era.
João Antunes (1642–1712) was a Portuguese architect and master mason, considered to be one of the most important architects of Baroque architecture. Antunes served as royal architect during the reign of King Pedro II of Portugal and is responsible for a number of famous landmarks in Lisbon, such as the National Pantheon at Santa Engrácia, and the tomb of Saint Joana, Princess of Portugal.
The architecture of Póvoa de Varzim, in Portugal, demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles over its thousand years of history. 11th-century Romanesque, 16th-century Mannerism, 18th-century Baroque, late 18th-century neoclassicism, early 20th-century Portuguese modernism and late 20th- to early 21st-century contemporary architectural styles and more are all represented in Póvoa de Varzim. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic tradition and innovation shaped by the people, their beliefs and economy.
The Mafra carillons constitute the largest carillon ensemble in the world.
The colonial architecture of Brazil is defined as the architecture carried out in the current Brazilian territory from 1500, the year of the Portuguese arrival, until its Independence, in 1822.
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