Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (Ouro Preto)

Last updated • 6 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi
Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assis (Ouro Preto, MG) cropped.jpg
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (Ouro Preto)
20°23′12″S43°30′11″W / 20.386645°S 43.502925°W / -20.386645; -43.502925
Location Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais
Country Brazil
Denomination Roman Catholic Church
Architecture
Architect(s) Aleijadinho
Style Baroque, rococo
Years built1765-1890
Administration
Archdiocese Archdiocese of Mariana
Designated1938
Reference no.111
[1]
Soapstone frontispiece above main entrance to the church Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assis - Sao Joao del-Rei - frontispicio.jpg
Soapstone frontispiece above main entrance to the church
"Glorification of Our Lady Among Musician Angels" by Mestre Ataide Mestre Ataide - Glorificacao de Nossa Senhora - Igreja de Sao Francisco 2.jpg
“Glorification of Our Lady Among Musician Angels” by Mestre Ataíde

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (Portuguese : Igreja de São Francisco de Assis) is a Rococo Catholic church in Ouro Preto, Brazil. Its erection began in 1766 after a design by the Brazilian architect and sculptor Antônio Francisco Lisboa, otherwise known as Aleijadinho. Lisboa designed both the structure of the church and the carved decorations on the interior, which were only finished towards the end of the 19th century. The circular bell towers and the oculus closed by a relief were original features in religious architecture of that time in Brazil. The façade has a single entrance door under a soapstone frontispiece under a relief depicting Saint Francis receiving the stigmata. The interior is richly decorated with golden woodwork, statues and paintings, and the wooden ceiling displays a painting by Manuel da Costa Ataíde.

Contents

Due to its architecture and historical significance regarding eighteenth-century gold mining, the church is classified on the UNESCO World Heritage List. [2] It is one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.

Architect

Antônio Francisco Lisboa was a Brazilian sculptor and architect in the eighteenth-century. His work primarily consists of Catholic churches and sculptures of religious figures. Born in 1738 as the illegitimate son of Portuguese architect Manuel Francisco Lisboa and an African slave, Lisboa grew up learning architecture and sculpting from his father. [3] Lisboa is commonly known as Aleijadinho, or little cripple, as a description of a condition resulting from syphilis. [4] Rodrigo Bretas describes this condition in his book, Passos da Paixão: O Aleijadinho. [5]

Antonio Francisco [Lisboa] came to lose all of his toes. Consequently, he atrophied and curved, and even some of his fingers fell off leaving him with only the thumbs and forefingers and practically devoid of movement. The excruciating pains he frequently felt in his fingers and the sourness of his choleric temper led him to the paroxysm of cutting off his fingers using the chisel he worked with. [5] [4]

While skilled in both sculpture and architecture, Lisboa was kept out of the circles of local artisans due to his birth status. [6] However, his profession combined with his father's race placed Lisboa's social status significantly above other non-white individuals, as race was highly performative and largely based on visual categorization. [7] His mixed-race status and ability to claim a white father, along with his profession as an artisan, allowed Lisboa to distance himself from the slaves who built his churches without fully claiming whiteness. [7] [4] Lisboa's volume of work is incredibly large, includes this site, and also those such as Congonhas do Campo and the Twelve Prophets (Twelve Prophets of Aleijadinho) with many other doors, alters, facades, and chapels in the region. [6]

Sculptures on the side of the main chapel Altares laterais da Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assis.JPG
Sculptures on the side of the main chapel

Art and architecture

Both Lisboa and Minas Gerais are known for their Rococo architecture. This architectural style is highly ornate and commonly found in churches built in the eighteenth century, with varying stylistic differences depending on influence of different European countries. [8] Along with these elaborately detailed structures are often baroque paintings and sculptures. [9] As explained by Monika Kaup (Ph.D., Ruhr University, 1991), "the delirious baroque effect is achieved by letting ornamentation run riot on interior walls, retablos, and facades." [9]

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi adheres to common Rococo elements, as Lisboa included gilded carvings and high-reliefs throughout the chapel and marked the exterior with the façade and soapstone frontispiece. As is consistent with the architectural style, this church also includes colonial Rococo paintings by Mestre Ataíde. Of the paintings, Ataíde’s most notable work is on the ceiling of the chapel. It is titled “Glorification of Our Lady Among Musician Angels” and depicts Mary surrounded by angels with various musical instruments. On the outer edges of the painting are prominent bishops and saints between large columns.

Historical significance

The Church of São Francisco de Assis is located in the city of Ouro Preto in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Ouro Preto is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site and cited as an example of baroque architecture. [10] [11] This well-preserved colonial Portuguese architecture, including that of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi and the artwork inside of the church, are examples of the baroque revival style (also known as rococo or late baroque). [12]

Ouro Preto has a rich history as a major mining town in colonial Brazil, which played an important role in the colonial economy. The architectural style, with its intricate designs and heavy use of gold, draws from the city’s history and wealth gained from gold mining in the eighteenth century. [13] As art historian Robert C. Smith notes, Brazil did not have the same extent of indigenous influence on architecture as other Latin American countries. Instead Brazilian colonial architecture, particularly in Minas Gerais, is significantly more Portuguese in stylistic influence than that of a synthetic Indigenous-European style. This engages with the conversation about the implications of colonizer influence as evident through colonial architecture. [14] This style of architecture, and its connection to the colonial economy, was supported by the Church.

As the ethnomusicologist Suzel Ana Reily argues,

"In Latin America...the realm of the baroque was most spectacularly represented within the religious sphere. Indeed the baroque ideals were greatly encouraged by the church, particularly through the activities of the Jesuits (Barbosa 1978, 10) in an effort to curtail the expansion of Protestantism in the Iberian colonial strongholds. With the discovery of gold in what is now the state of Minas Gerais in the late 17th century, there was also considerable wealth, which significantly enhanced the baroque orientation towards ostentation. Much of this wealth was invested in the construction and decoration of churches as well as in the production of grand religious festivals with magnificent processions and ceremonious sung masses." [15]

Holy Week celebrations

The church in former mining towns in southern Brazil is the center of Holy Week celebrations. As social anthropologist Suzel Ana Reily (Ph.D., University of São Paulo) notes in her research on the baroque era and local identity:

"In Campanha, as in other former mining towns in the region such as Ouro Preto, São João del-Rey, Prados, Lavras, Baependi and a number of others, Holy Week is the main event on the annual religious calendar. It is enacted following a highly theatrical, ‘baroque’ template that developed during the colonial period and it is propelled by a choral repertoire that centers upon the works of major colonial composers...Through the festivities the population of the town is transported back to the gold mining era, a glorious age of considerable wealth, and the power of these experiences has been central in defining local identity in terms of the legacy of gold." [15]

Reily shows how this convergence of historical consciousness and religiosity, through processions and celebration, renews local visions of economic prosperity. Holy Week celebrations continue through today, with thousands of people participating in the processions, music, and elaborate decoration of the city. [16] [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouro Preto</span> Municipality in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Ouro Preto, formerly Vila Rica, is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its Baroque colonial architecture. Ouro Preto used to be the capital of Minas Gerais from 1720 until the foundation of Belo Horizonte in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleijadinho</span> Colonial Brazilian sculptor and architect (c.1738–1814)

Antônio Francisco Lisboa, better known as Aleijadinho, was a sculptor, carver and architect of Colonial Brazil, noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil. With a style related to Baroque and Rococo, Aleijadinho is considered almost by consensus as the greatest exponent of colonial art in Brazil by Brazilian critics and, surpassing Brazilian borders, for some foreign scholars he is the greatest name of Baroque in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamantina, Minas Gerais</span> Municipality in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Diamantina is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Its estimated population in 2020 was 47,825 in a total area of 3,870 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">São João del-Rei</span> Municipality in Minas Gerais, Brazil

São João del-Rei is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1713 in homage to king John V of Portugal, the city is famed for its historic Portuguese colonial architecture. The current population is estimated at 90,225 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congonhas</span> Municipality in Southeast, Brazil

Congonhas is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated 90 kilometres (56 mi) south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a population of 55,309.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian art</span> Art from Brazil

The creation of art in the geographic area now known as Brazil begins with the earliest records of its human habitation. The original inhabitants of the land, pre-Columbian Indigenous or Natives peoples, produced various forms of art; specific cultures like the Marajoara left sophisticated painted pottery. This area was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century and given the modern name of Brazil. Brazilian art is most commonly used as an umbrella term for art created in this region post Portuguese colonization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estrada Real</span> Kings street

Estrada Real was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese overseas territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baroque in Brazil</span>

The Baroque in Brazil was the dominant artistic style during most of the colonial period, finding an open ground for a rich flowering. It made its appearance in the country at the beginning of the 17th century, introduced by Catholic missionaries, especially Jesuits, who went there in order to catechize and acculturate the native indigenous peoples and assist the Portuguese in the colonizing process. In the course of the Colonial period, expressed a close association between the Church and the State, but in the colony there was not a court that would serve as a patron of the arts, the elites did not bother to build palaces, or to help sponsor the profane arts, but at the end of the period, and how the religion had a strong influence on the daily lives of everyone in this group of factors derives from the vast majority of the legacy of the Brazilian Baroque period, is the sacred art: statuary, painting, and the work of carving for the decoration of churches and convents, or for private worship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manoel da Costa Ataíde</span> Brazilian painter and sculptor

Manoel da Costa Ataíde, better known as Mestre Ataíde, was a Brazilian painter, sculptor, gilder and teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afonso Celso, Viscount of Ouro Preto</span> Brazilian politician

Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo, the Viscount of Ouro Preto was a Brazilian politician, and the last Prime Minister of the Empire of Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museu da Inconfidência</span>

Museu da Inconfidência or Museum of the Inconfidência is a history museum dedicated to those who died in a failed rebellion movement Inconfidência Mineira for Brazilian independence from Portugal. It was established in 1938. It is located in Tiradentes Square in Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais in a former Jail. It was declared as a National Museum of Brazil in 1990.

Beatriz Francisca de Assis Brandão was a Neoclassical or Arcadian Brazilian poet, translator, musician, educator and early feminist. One of the few prominent female intellectuals and artists in Brazil during the reign of Pedro II, she became well-known for her poetry, frequently published in Brazilian newspapers. Through her life and work, she challenged the dominant societal roles for women at the time and played an important part in Brazilian social, political and cultural history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">São Francisco Cultural Center</span>

Cultural Center San Francisco is located in the Paraiba state capital of João Pessoa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos</span>

The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos is an 18th-century Roman Catholic basilica in Congonhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was designed in the Baroque style with an Italian-inspired Rococo interior. The basilica is noted for its grand outdoor stairway with statues of Old Testament prophets. The interior has seven side chapels which illustrate the Stations of the Cross; each has a polychrome sculpture made by the artist Aleijadinho and his assistants. They are considered masterpieces of an original, moving, and expressive form of Baroque art. The basilica was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1939, and designated at It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvio de Vasconcellos</span> Brazilian architect

Sylvio Carvalho de Vasconcellos was a Brazilian architect and architectural historian, also recognized as one of the pioneers of Brazilian modernist architecture in the state of Minas Gerais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial architecture of Brazil</span> Architecture carried out in the current Brazilian territory from 1500 until 1822.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (São João del-Rei)</span> Church in Minas Gerais, Brazil

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a Catholic temple founded by the Secular Franciscan Order in the Brazilian city of São João del-Rei, in the state of Minas Gerais. The church, started in 1774, is one of the main landmarks of Brazilian colonial art, becoming famous for the beauty of its architecture, the richness of its carving, and the work of Aleijadinho, later modified by Francisco Cerqueira. Due to its importance, the church was declared a national heritage site by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) along with its entire collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of the Pillar Mother Church (Ouro Preto)</span> Catholic church in Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, popularly called the Our Lady of the Pillar Mother Church, is one of the best known Catholic buildings among those erected during the Brazilian gold rush. It is a listed monument by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN). It is located at the Monsenhor Castilho Barbosa Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Ouro Preto)</span> Church in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a Catholic temple in the Brazilian city of Ouro Preto, and an important example of the Rococo tradition in Brazil. It is a listed monument by the National Institute Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Black Men (Ouro Preto)</span> Brazilian Catholic temple in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais.

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Black Men, also known as the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, is a Catholic temple in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Landmarked by IPHAN, it is one of the most original sacred buildings dating from the colonial period in Brazil.

References

  1. "Ouro Preto – Igreja de São Francisco de Assis". Ipatrimônio. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  2. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Historic Town of Ouro Preto". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  3. Hogan, James E. (1974). "Antonio Francisco Lisboa, 'O Aleijadinho': An Annotated Bibliography". Latin American Research Review. 9 (2): 83–94. JSTOR   2502724.
  4. 1 2 3 BALD, SUNIL (2001). "In Aleijadinho's Shadow: Writing National Origins in Brazilian Architecture". Thresholds (23): 74–81. JSTOR   43866494.
  5. 1 2 Bretas, Rodrigo Jose Ferreira (1984). Passos da Paixão: O Aleijadinho. Rio de Janeiro: Alumbramento.
  6. 1 2 Hogan, James E. (1974). "Antonio Francisco Lisboa, 'O Aleijadinho': An Annotated Bibliography". Latin American Research Review. 9 (2): 83–94. JSTOR   2502724.
  7. 1 2 Maddox, John (2012). "The Aleijadinho at Home and Abroad: "Discovering" Race and Nation in Brazil". CR: The New Centennial Review. 12 (2): 183–216. doi:10.1353/ncr.2012.0052. JSTOR   41949788.
  8. Bury, J. B. (1955). "The "Borrominesque" Churches of Colonial Brazil". The Art Bulletin. 37 (1): 27–53. doi:10.2307/3047591. JSTOR   3047591.
  9. 1 2 Monika., Kaup (2012). Neobaroque in the Americas : alternative modernities in literature, visual art, and film. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. ISBN   9780813933122. OCLC   867739337.
  10. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Historic Town of Ouro Preto". whc.unesco.org.
  11. Teixeira, Luiz Gonzaga (1983). "Ouro Preto: Brazil's Monument Town". Ambio. 12 (3/4): 213–215. JSTOR   4312915.
  12. Bury, J. B. (March 1955). "The "Borrominesque" Churches of Colonial Brazil". The Art Bulletin. 37 (1): 27–53. doi:10.2307/3047591. JSTOR   3047591.
  13. James-Chakraborty, Kathleen (2014). "Spain and Portugal in the Americas". Architecture since 1400. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 141–156. ISBN   9780816673971. JSTOR   10.5749/j.ctt9qh39w.14.
  14. Smith, Robert C. Jr. (June 1939). "The Colonial Architecture of Minas Gerais in Brazil". The Art Bulletin. 21 (2): 110–159. doi:10.2307/3046628. JSTOR   3046628.
  15. 1 2 Reily, Suzel Ana (2006). "Remembering the Baroque Era: Historical Consciousness, Local Identity and the Holy Week Celebrations in a Former Mining Town in Brazil". Ethnomusicology Forum. 15 (1): 39–62. doi:10.1080/17411910600634247. JSTOR   20184539.
  16. "Alternative Easter hotspots in South America and Europe - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  17. "In pictures: Easter Sunday". BBC News. 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2018-04-13.