Aleijadinho’s <i>Mestiço</i> Architecture in Eighteenth-Century Brazil: Inventing Brazilian National Identity via a Racialized Colonial Art

Antônio Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho) is arguably the most famous Brazilian colonial artist, known for his Baroque sculptures and architecture. The reception of his life and work, which often centered on biographical aspects such as his <i>mestiço</i> identity and his disability, confer...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Laura Ammann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-10-01
Series:Arts
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/5/214
Description
Summary:Antônio Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho) is arguably the most famous Brazilian colonial artist, known for his Baroque sculptures and architecture. The reception of his life and work, which often centered on biographical aspects such as his <i>mestiço</i> identity and his disability, conferred him a mythological positioning in Brazilian history. From the first sources from the 19th century to the modernist reappraisal of the Colonial Baroque in the 1920s, Aleijadinho became a foundational figure in the construction of Brazil’s post-colonial nationhood. This article contributes to the understanding of the mythification of Aleijadinho, paying special attention to how his <i>mestiço</i> identity was articulated in the essays of the Brazilian modernist Mário de Andrade.
ISSN:2076-0752