The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation
The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Royal Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça, in Portugal, stands today in the former Saint Vincent chapel. In the 16th century, the tombs of the kings Afonso II and Afonso III of Portugal were placed in this chapel, making it the epicen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Associação Profissional de Conservadores - Restauradores de Portugal
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Conservar Património |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.14568/cp15-16_1 |
| _version_ | 1819162754966093824 |
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| author | André Varela Remígio |
| author_facet | André Varela Remígio |
| author_sort | André Varela Remígio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Royal Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça, in Portugal, stands today in the former Saint Vincent chapel. In the 16th century, the tombs of the kings Afonso II and Afonso III of Portugal were placed in this chapel, making it the epicenter of the Royal Pantheon of Alcobaça. In 1639, an altarpiece was built to dignify these two royal tombs. In the last third of the 17th century, the patron saint of the chapel was changed to Saint Bernard and a set of monumental polychromed terracotta sculptures representing the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard was commissioned. The existing altarpiece was adjusted to receive the sculptural set. It was executed in two campaigns and by two different workshops. After a detailed study about the production of the monumental polychromed terracotta sculptures of the Monastery of Alcobaça, we defend the existence of at least two different workshops, consisting of lay brothers, eventually with the collaboration of secular artists. These workshops also executed sculptures outside of the grounds of Alcobaça. Given the symbolic and historical context of this altarpiece, the conservation treatment of the sculptures of its horizontal plane continued the treatment carried out by the José de Figueiredo Institute between 1969 and 1973, with a view to maintaining and updating procedures, taking the principle of minimum intervention as guiding line. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T17:33:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8c522a20c9f47ca9ff8030ea5ac3861 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1646-043X 2182-9942 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T17:33:16Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Associação Profissional de Conservadores - Restauradores de Portugal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservar Património |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8c522a20c9f47ca9ff8030ea5ac38612022-12-21T18:18:34ZengAssociação Profissional de Conservadores - Restauradores de PortugalConservar Património1646-043X2182-99422012-01-0115-1633010.14568/cp15-16_115-16_1The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservationAndré Varela Remígio0André Varela Remígio - Atelier de Conservação e Restauro de Escultura e Talha Dourada, Rua Fernão Penteado 22, 1400-148 Lisboa, PortugalThe altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Royal Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça, in Portugal, stands today in the former Saint Vincent chapel. In the 16th century, the tombs of the kings Afonso II and Afonso III of Portugal were placed in this chapel, making it the epicenter of the Royal Pantheon of Alcobaça. In 1639, an altarpiece was built to dignify these two royal tombs. In the last third of the 17th century, the patron saint of the chapel was changed to Saint Bernard and a set of monumental polychromed terracotta sculptures representing the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard was commissioned. The existing altarpiece was adjusted to receive the sculptural set. It was executed in two campaigns and by two different workshops. After a detailed study about the production of the monumental polychromed terracotta sculptures of the Monastery of Alcobaça, we defend the existence of at least two different workshops, consisting of lay brothers, eventually with the collaboration of secular artists. These workshops also executed sculptures outside of the grounds of Alcobaça. Given the symbolic and historical context of this altarpiece, the conservation treatment of the sculptures of its horizontal plane continued the treatment carried out by the José de Figueiredo Institute between 1969 and 1973, with a view to maintaining and updating procedures, taking the principle of minimum intervention as guiding line.https://doi.org/10.14568/cp15-16_1SculptureTerracottaTechniqueConservationAlcobaçaTransit of the Soul of Saint Bernard |
| spellingShingle | André Varela Remígio The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation Conservar Património Sculpture Terracotta Technique Conservation Alcobaça Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard |
| title | The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation |
| title_full | The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation |
| title_fullStr | The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation |
| title_short | The altarpiece of the Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard of the Real Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça: history, execution and conservation |
| title_sort | altarpiece of the transit of the soul of saint bernard of the real monastery of saint mary of alcobaca history execution and conservation |
| topic | Sculpture Terracotta Technique Conservation Alcobaça Transit of the Soul of Saint Bernard |
| url | https://doi.org/10.14568/cp15-16_1 |
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