São Francisco Church and Convent

São Francisco Church and Convent

The São Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador (Portuguese: "Convento e Igreja de São Francisco") is located in the historical centre of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil. The convent and its church are very important colonial monuments in Brazil.

The friars of the Franciscan Order arrived in Salvador in 1587 and soon built a convent and church, but these were destroyed during the Dutch invasions of Bahia in the early 17th century. The works on the current convent began in 1686 under Father "Vicente das Chagas" following a grandiose design that took decades to complete. The current church was built between 1708 and 1723, but the interior was decorated by several artists during a great part of the 18th century. Most decoration of the church and convent were finished by 1755.

Art

The Church of São Francisco of Salvador is unusual among Franciscan houses of Northeast Brazil in that it has a nave with three aisles, while most other Franciscan churches of the region have only one aisle. Three lateral chapels are located on each of the lateral aisles. The church has a rectangular shape without protruding transept arms and a main chapel. The floorplan seems influenced by the São Francisco Church of Oporto (actually a Gothic building) and the Jesuit plans of São Roque in Lisbon and the Jesuit Church of Salvador.

The main façade, which faces a large rectangular square with a large stone cross, shows influences of Mannerist architecture through the Jesuit Church of Salvador, among other buildings. It has three portals and two flanking towers, and the upper part of the façade (gable) is flanked by elaborate volutes.

The most important characteristic of the church is its exuberant inner decoration, mostly executed in the first half of the 18th century. All surfaces inside - walls, pillars, vaults and ceilings - are covered by golden sculptered gilt woodwork and paintings. The altarpieces display the typical Solomonic columns and concentric arches decorated with golden foliage, angels and birds, while the vaults of the aisles are covered by wooden panels with paintings. Blue-white tile (azulejo) panels, by "Bartolomeu Antunes de Jesus" and imported from Lisbon, cover the lower parts of the walls of the main chapel and transept and depict scenes of the life of St Francis of Assisi. The decoration of the church is considered one of the most complete and imposing in Portuguese-Brazilian Baroque gilt woodwork art ("talha dourada"), being a perfect example of the "golden church" ("igreja dourada").

The convent of São Francisco is also an important repository of Baroque art. The wooden ceiling of the entrance hall ("Portaria") was painted with scenes in illusionistic perspective by "José Joaquim da Rocha" in 1774. The two-storey cloisters, finished around 1752, were decorated with monumental panels of blue-white tile (azulejo) panels. The tiles, with moralistic allegories based on 17th century-Flemish engravings and sayings by Roman poet Horace, were manufactured in Lisbon.

References

* da Silva Telles, Augusto Carlos: "Atlas dos monumentos históricos e artísticos do Brasil". MEC/SEAC/FENAME. 1980.
* [http://www.sct.ba.gov.br/inventario_cultural_vol1.asp Inventory of the Historical Heritage of Bahia]

External links

* [http://www.emtursa.salvador.ba.gov.br/template.asp São Francisco church in the official touristic site of Salvador]
* [http://www.ceramicanorio.com/paineis/azulejosportigsaofcosalvador/azulejosportigsaofcosalvador.html Azulejo panels in the São Francisco church]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Church of São Francisco (Porto) — Gothic apse of the Church of São Francisco. The Igreja de São Francisco (Church of Saint Francis) is the most prominent Gothic monument in Oporto, Portugal, being also noted for its outstanding Baroque inner decoration. It is located in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Convent of São Francisco (Vila do Porto) — Coordinates: 36°57′11.22″N 25°8′36.00″W / 36.9531167°N 25.14333°W / 36.9531167; 25.14333 …   Wikipedia

  • Igreja de São Francisco (Porto) — The Igreja de São Francisco (Church of Saint Francis) is the most important Gothic monument in Oporto, Portugal, being also noted for its outstanding Baroque inner decoration. It is located in the historic centre of the city, declared World… …   Wikipedia

  • São Cristóvão — is a Brazilian city in the northeastern state of Sergipe. Its population was 75,353 (2005) and its area is 437 km². [ [http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/default.php IBGE] ] It is the third largest settlement in the state, behind Aracaju and Nossa… …   Wikipedia

  • São Paulo — /sowonn pow loh/; Eng. /sow pow loh/ 1. a state in S Brazil. 30,942,600; 95,714 sq. mi. (247,898 sq. km). 2. a city in and the capital of this state. 7,032,547. * * * City (pop.,2002 est.: city, 9,969,100; metro. area, 18,390,800), southeastern… …   Universalium

  • São Luiz de Maranhão — • Diocese; suffragan of Belém de Pará, comprises the State of Maranhão in Northern Brazil Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Sao Luiz de Maranhao     São Luiz de Maranhão …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Convent of the Capuchos (Sintra) — Coordinates: 38°47′3.97″N 9°26′17.72″W / 38.7844361°N 9.4382556°W / 38.7844361; 9.4382556 …   Wikipedia

  • Church of the Jesuit College (São Sebastião) — Coordinates: 37°44′37″N 25°40′11.62″W / 37.74361°N 25.6698944°W / 37.74361; 25.6698944 …   Wikipedia

  • São Sebastião (Ponta Delgada) — Coordinates: 37°44′54″N 25°40′15″W / 37.74833°N 25.67083°W / 37.74833; 25.67083 …   Wikipedia

  • São Paulo — This article is about the city. For the state, see São Paulo (state). For other uses, see São Paulo (disambiguation). São Paulo   Municipality   Município de São Paulo Municipality of São Paulo …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”