Portugal

several other historic figures, on the Padrão
dos Descobrimentos or Monument of the
Discoveries in Belém near Lisbon.
PORTUGAL’S UNIQUE MANUELINE
STYLE The style known as Manueline
or Manuelino is unique to Portugal. It
predominated between 1490 and 1520,
and remains one of the most memorable
art forms to have emerged from the country.
It’s named for Manuel I, who reigned
from 1495 to 1521. When Dom Manuel I
inaugurated the style, Manueline architecture
was shockingly modern, a farsighted
departure from the rigidity of medieval
models. It originally decorated portals,
porches, and interiors, mostly adorning
old rather than new structures. The style
marked a transition from the Gothic to
the Renaissance in Portugal.
Old-timers claim that Manuelino, also
called Atlantic Gothic, derived from the
sea, although some modern-day observers
detect a surrealism that foreshadowed Salvador
Dalí’s style. Everything about Manueline
art is a celebration of seafaring ways.
In Manuelino works, Christian iconography
combines with shells, ropes, branches
of coral, heraldic coats of arms, religious
symbols, and imaginative waterborne
shapes, as well as with Moorish themes.
Many monuments throughout the
country—notably the Monastery of Jerónimos
in Belém, outside Lisbon—offer
examples of this style. Others are in the
Azores and Madeira. Sometimes Manuelino
is combined with the famous tile
panels, as in Sintra National Palace. The
first Manueline building in Portugal was
the classic Church of Jesus at Setúbal,
south of Lisbon. Large pillars in the interior
twist in spirals to support a flamboyant
ribbed ceiling.
Although it’s mainly an architectural
style, Manuelino affected other artistic
fields as well. In sculpture, Manuelino was
usually decorative. Employed over doorways,
rose windows, balustrades, and lintels,
it featured everything from a corncob
to a stalk of cardoon. Manuelino also
affected painting; brilliant gemlike colors
characterize works influenced by the style.
The best-known Manueline painter was
Grão Vasco (also called Vasco Fernandes).
His most famous works include several
panels, now on exhibition in the Grão
Vasco museum, that were originally
intended for the Cathedral of Viseu. The
most renowned of these panels are Calvary
and St. Peter, both dating from 1530.
“The Great Vasco” was but one of a
series of Manueline painters who flourished
between 1505 and 1550. These men
created a true Portuguese School of Painting,
with life-size human figures.
Another leading artist was Jorge
Afonso, court painter from 1508 to 1540
and a native of Brazil. He was the leader of
the so-called Lisbon School of Painting.
There are no existing works that can be
definitely attributed to him, however.
Gil Vicente (1465–1537) achieved success
as a goldsmith, using precious metals
shipped back from South America. He was
actually a Renaissance man, also excelling
as a playwright, poet, and musician.
Portuguese art declined during the
60-year reign of Spain beginning in 1580.
The new Spanish rulers suppressed the
unique Manueline style and restored classical
motifs from Italy.
Even when the Portuguese took back
their country, with the reign of João IV, an
artistic revival did not occur until decades
later.
BAROQUE ART (LATE 17TH–18TH
CENTURY) The baroque style of art
and architecture comes from the Portuguese
word barroco. Under the reign of
King João V (1706–50), the Monastery of
Mafra was constructed outside Lisbon
between 1713 and 1730. It is Portugal’s
answer to the more famous Escorial outside
Madrid. Rather severe in its lines, the
monastery is Neoclassical, except for
spired cupolas on its cubic towers.
23
PORTUGAL IN DEPTH 2
PORTUGAL’S ART & ARCHITECTURE