The architecture of military engineer José Fernandes Pinto Alpoim in Brazil (1738-1763)

• Grant number: 24/03092-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Tognon
• Grantee: Sarah Dume
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to map, analyze and discuss the professional performance of the Portuguese military engineer José Fernandes Pinto Alpoim during the years of his stay in Brazil, specifically in the southeast region, between the years 1738 and 1763. Starting from the analysis of the works and literature produced on the engineer, as well as the historical-artistic context of the period, it is proposed to create a documented catalog of works by the Portuguese professional, demonstrating his relevance and the spectrum of his multifaceted activity based on the study of the countless architectural works carried out in the territory Brazilian. Such a set of built and urban works would be representative of a new political visibility of the Portuguese State in its American colony, under the government of the Count of Bobadela, designated by D. João V, the magnanimous patron dedicated to the development of artistic and scientific knowledge in Portugal in the first half of the 18th century. The aim is to expand discussions about the technical and architectural dynamics intrinsic to the factories of buildings designed by Alpoim, also observing the activity of contemporary professionals during their stay in Brazil. In this way, the systematization of information about the architecture produced by military engineers, specifically Alpoim, in Brazil during this period, can shed light on historiography on the topic, new discussions on the construction of colonial architectural ideas in parallel with the theoretical and practical production of architecture current in the Lisbon court, and how such actions enter the works of Portuguese artists and technicians who worked in Brazil and adapted their knowledge and practices to the context of the colony that at this time stood out in the exploration of gold in favor of the intentions of the Johannine monarch.