Faculdade de Letras, Departamento de História, Estudos Europeus, Arqueologia e Artes

This paper aims to rethink 19th century Portuguese sculpture’s stylistic categories from the analysis of the work of António Teixeira Lopes, who is considered the major representative of naturalism in this country. First, the concept of naturalism in Portuguese art history is examined, with a critical characterization of its separation from romanticism (contrasting with mainstream literature) and demonstrating that its emergence from painting research and its adoption in sculpture is inoperative when observing a concrete art work. Secondly, with the Portuguese art reality as a backdrop, Teixeira Lopes’ academic and professional life is contextualised. Finally, based on the analysis of the sculptor’s work and the knowledge of his methods and views on art, the labelling of Lopes as a naturalist is questioned and the necessity for a less compartmentalized understanding of 19th century art is stressed.

O presente artigo visa analisar formal e iconograficamente a casa-atelier de António Teixeira Lopes, relacionando-a com a vida privada e social do escultor, com a arquitetura e a mundividência românticas. Parte-se da caracterização da casa-atelier enquanto refúgio e palco do artista, articulando a sua emergência com a entrada da arte na esfera pública. Contextualiza-se a construção da casa-atelier de Teixeira Lopes no âmbito do seu trajeto pessoal e profissional e examina-se a dinâmica espacial da mesma. Finalmente, descodificam-se os discursos iconográficos reunidos no edifício. A convivência de alusões à identidade do artista com a apropriação eclética de correntes artísticas e ornamentos passíveis de uma leitura iniciática ou esotérica é interpretada à luz do século XIX português.

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This paper aims to formally and ichnographically analyse the house-studio of António Teixeira Lopes, connecting it with the private and social life of the sculptor, and the architecture and worldview of Romanticism. Starting with the characterization of the house-studio as a refuge and a stage, its emergence is correlated with the entrance of art into the public sphere. The construction of Teixeira Lopes’ house-studio is contextualized within the scope of his personal and professional journey and its spatial dynamics is examined. Finally, the iconographic discourses gathered in the construction are decoded. The coexistence of allusions to the artist’s identity with the eclectic appropriation of artistic movements and ornaments, capable of an initiatory or esoteric reading, is interpreted in the light of the Portuguese 19th century.

This paper aims to reflexively tackle a specific artwork: The Widow, the most renowned, yet under-studied, sculpture of António Teixeira Lopes, a prominent artist of the Portuguese nineteenth century. Therefore, the analysis of this piece, based on several inquiring procedures believed useful to all art historians, is converted into an epistemological exercise. Firstly, the Romantic sensibility is characterised, alongside the ponderment of the widow's representational allure. Women and death's perception in the nineteenth century is thus brought into question. Moreover, the social condition of widows and their identity codification is considered so that the relationship between reality and representation is critically appraised. Secondly, the focus shifts to the sculptor himself and his creative process. At the time living in Paris, his potential connections with death experiences, his professional goals and the pressure of the artistic environment contribute to explain Teixeira Lopes' selection of this subject. Finally, the sculpture itself is thoroughly examined, questioning every formal choice and its meaning, searching for secular and contemporary visual stimuli which could have deliberately or unconsciously interacted within the creative process. To conclude, the need to approach an artwork simultaneously as unique and as a historical object in its turn chronologically transversal is stressed.

[es] Este artículo analiza pormenorizadamente la pieza escultórica La Viuda de António Teixeira Lopes, que, aunque es una de las más famosas de este autor ha sido, a su vez y de manera sorprendente, una de las menos estudiadas hasta la fecha. Así, hay que señalar que en este texto no sólo se ofrece un estudio analítico de la citada pieza, sino que se presenta también con una visión epistemológica de la historia del arte. La Viuda se caracteriza por su sensibilidad romántica por la elección del tema, del que destaca la consideración de la condición social de las viudas y la codificación de su identidad, pero, al mismo tiempo y de manera crítica, se evalúa la relación entre arte y realidad. Así, se justifica que esta obra, que fue concebida en París, tenga un significado especial en relación a los episodios biográficos del autor y su relación con la muerte, así como sus inquietudes profesionales y circunstanciales del entorno artístico que explican la selección del tema. Para completar este análisis, en este artículo la escultura es examinada a fondo, cuestionándose las autoras el significado de cada opción formal, buscando estímulos visuales que pueden haber actuado deliberada o inconscientemente en el proceso creativo. Para concluir, se enfatiza la necesidad de abordar una obra de arte como única y, simultáneamente, como un objeto histórico cronológicamente transversal.

El Jadida means in Arabic The New. It is also the troponin of a province and a city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Casablanca. Before this designation however, the small town and the bay area were called Mazagão. The change was due to a decisive Portuguese intervention, although the Portuguese never stopped using the original name. This explains why in 2004 when the fortified centre was inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO, it was designated as the Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida).
The Portuguese action occurred in two phases: the first one started in 1514 with the construction of a small castle aiming to consolidate an expansionist policy in North Africa, until then successfully carried out; the second one began in 1541 with the foundation of a fortified city strengthened by angular bastions, corresponding already to an extreme solution to ensure what still persisted under Portuguese rule.
Of all the complex process from 1514 to 1541 the most relevant was the construction of the defence perimeter. Although this is a subject deeply studied, published and discussed, it is still possible to address new approaches.
Responding to the general theme of this scientific meeting, Il cantiere della città we intend to continue this debate here, looking again to the set of actors enrolled in this process of building Mazagão, a process that undoubtedly marked the evolution towards modernity of medieval mechanisms, procedures and professional attitudes.

El Jadida in lingua araba significa La Nuova ed è anche il toponimo di una città marocchina situata sulla costa atlantica, 90 kilometri circa più a Sud di Casablanca. Prima che si diffondesse questa designazione, la baia e il piccolo paese preesistente erano conosciuti come Mazagão. Il cambiamento del nome è dovuto a un rilevante intervento da parte dei portoghesi, che, tuttavia, hanno continuato a usare il toponimo iniziale. Non a caso, nel 2004, con l’iscrizione del nucleo fortificato della città alla Lista dei Patrimoni dell’Umanità dell’UNESCO, è stata usata la seguente designazione: Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida). Jadida (Nuova) per tutti, Mazagão per i portoghesi.
L’azione dei portoghesi, in un momento iniziale (1514), consistette nel costruire un piccolo castello. Più tardi, nel 1541, fu edificata una città circondata da un nuovo perimetro quadrangolare, così come lo era anche il preesistente, con bastioni angolari, il primo di questo genere a essere innalzato fuori dall’Europa. Se, con la prima azione, l’obiettivo era di consolidare la politica espansionista portoghese nel Nord dell’Africa, fino a quel momento ben riuscita, la seconda servì per assicurare quello che restava di questa politica.
Ciò che di più rilevante è rimasto alla Storia, tra diverse complesse vicende e azioni in gioco, è la costruzione del perimetro bastionato. La questione è molto studiata e discussa in varie pubblicazioni, ma ci sono alcuni aspetti che ancora meritano di essere studiati a fondo.
Continuiamo così il dibattito, approfittando dell’avvincente proposta di questa pubblicazione e proponendo un nuovo sguardo sugli intervenienti di un processo che, senz’ombra di dubbio, è stato influente per l’evoluzione verso la modernità di meccanismi statali, posture professionali e procedure medievali.