CONSTRUCTIVE, STYLISTICAL AND ICONOGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEO-GOTHIC MAUSOLEUM OF CONCHADA CEMETERY
CONSTRUCTIVE, STYLISTICAL AND ICONOGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEO-GOTHIC MAUSOLEUM OF CONCHADA CEMETERY
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DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1012320129
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Palavras-chave: Arte funerária, Cemitério, Iconografia, Mausoleu, Neo-Gótico
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Keywords: Funerary art, Cemetery, Iconography, Mausoleum, Neo-Gothic
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Abstract: The deep belief in the Resurrection by Christians motivated burials in Portugal, since the Middle Ages, to be carried out inside or next to religious buildings. Due to poor hygienic practices that facilitated the spread of epidemics, thus resulting in population mortality increase, legislation was published in 1835 that prohibited burials in churches and within towns, giving rise to the first cemeteries. The wealthiest families built mausoleums in the form of small chapels, adopting varied architectural styles, from neo-Egyptian, neoclassical, neo-Romanesque, neo-Gothic, neo-baroque, neo-Manueline, to new art, beaux art, etc. In Coimbra, the definitive construction process of the Conchada cemetery began in 1856, according to a plan outlined by the physician Raymundo Venâncio Rodrigues, then mayor. In the 70s and 80s of the 19th century, a large part of the most interesting monuments of this cemetery was built, and it was during this period that a clear specificity of Coimbra funerary art emerged. The typology of the small mausoleum in the form of a chapel – the narrow tombs, constitutes one of the most specific and interesting aspects of the funerary architecture of the Conchada cemetery, in this period. As part of a vast study of this cemetery, all narrow chapel tombs are being analyzed. In methodological terms, the oldest part of the cemetery was selected and subjected to a complete photogrammetric survey. Afterwards, the mausoleums were carefully identified and dated, through burial records. In the next phase, each mausoleum was deeply studied in terms of its architectural style, iconography, and construction process. The work carried out so far, confirmed the presence of a wide variety of architectural styles, decorated with a wealth of complex iconographic elements and different constructive forms. This communication presents, by way of example, the study of a narrow chapel mausoleum, with a very expressive architecture in the neo-Gothic style and a rich iconography of Brazilian influence.
- Fernando G. Branco
- Jorge Morarji dos Remédios Días Mascarenhas
- Maria de Lurdes Belgas da Costa Reis