CULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS AND TRANSFERS BETWEEN ITALY, PORTUGAL, AND BRAZIL IN 18TH-CENTURY ARCHITECTURE: A historiographical review of the theme in Colonial Brazil

• Grant number: 22/16246-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal Investigator: Luciano Migliaccio
• Grantee: Nathália Momesso de Menezes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06538-9 - Baroque-açu: Portuguese America in the art geography of the global South, AP.JP2

Abstract

Two buildings marked the first half of the 18th century in Rio de Janeiro concerning the constitution of a new architectural typology for religious buildings in Colonial Brazil: the Church of São Pedro dos Clérigos and the New Church for the Colégio dos Jesuítas in Morro do Castelo. Both buildings, which no longer exist, presented novelties that brought them closer to Portuguese prototypes - that were inspired, in turn, by Roman architectural models. Throughout his reign, the King of Portugal, D. João V, promoted a cultural and aesthetic renovation, favoring the work of foreign artists who brought an updated vocabulary (with Italian trends) to Portuguese lands. That said, the present research proposes to study the construction of the two churches in Rio under the hypothesis that they have been a document of great importance about the cultural transfer of Italian models, especially those produced by architects who were part of the Roman studio of Carlo Fontana, via Portugal to Brazil. As it is a research of a historical nature and presents a bibliographic character, it aims to carry out, firstly, a study on cultural transfers between Italy and Portugal in the time frame that covers the end of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, with the purpose of inserting the theme in Brazilian academic studies and contributing to the construction of critical analysis about the reception of Italian artistic traditions in Brazil. Then, the broadest possible survey will be carried out with important written and iconographic documents of the history of the two buildings, seeking to contribute to the renewal of research on the art of the colonial period in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil in a Latin American panorama within decolonial perspectives and discussions.