Brotherly love and filial obedience: the commemorative programme of the Avis princes at Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha

This dissertation focuses on a rare 15th century commemorative programme that has thus far received little scholarly attention: the collective monument erected in the Founder’s Chapel, at the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha, to house the remains of four Avis princes, members of what would become known as ‘the Illustrious Generation’. A patron is proposed for the commission of this erudite monument - the princes’ eldest brother, king Duarte I - arguing its integration into a broader propaganda programme to glorify the memory of the Avis dynasty founder, king João I. The dissertation then proceeds to discuss various highly innovative features of the monument, such as its pseudo-architectural character, its use of sophisticated heraldry and personal badges, the apparent absence of religious iconography on the tombs and, importantly, the collective nature of the programme, key to its interpretation. Using a semiotic approach, a discussion is also offered on the way the various formal, iconographic and conceptual novelties of the princes’ monument impacted on the 15th century monumental landscape in Portugal. Finally, the monument and the chapel housing it are looked at through the prism of the various readings that successive generations of viewers have projected onto it, from the time of its creation to the turn of the 20th century, in order to offer a more comprehensive understanding of the object as it stands today

The Medieval in Modernism: Cathedrals, Stained Glass, and Constructive Painting in Joaquín Torres-García and in the European Avant-garde

This thesis examines modernist attitudes towards the past generally and towards the medieval past in particular, by exploring the significance of gothic architecture and stained glass to the constructive pictorial enquiries of Joaquín Torres-García, František Kupka, Robert Delaunay, Otto Freundlich, Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg and Josef Albers. Torres-García is taken as a case study given that his painted and written work shows an actual engagement with the medieval that has hitherto gone largely unnoticed. The discussion thus traces Torres-García's complex and changing relationship with the gothic over time, and examines its place in his constructive pictorial practice. Close attention is given to two particular periods in Torres-García's career. Firstly, his transition from Noucentisme to the avant-garde in the mid-1910s in Barcelona, coinciding with his involvement in a stained glass project for a public building. This period is examined under the light of prevalent attitudes towards the medieval in classicist noucentista Barcelona, which are inferred through a comprehensive survey of local modernist magazines. A second period of interest is Torres-García's late-1920s formulation of Constructive Universalism, the distinct primitive-constructive idiom he characterised as "the style of a cathedral," coinciding with a time when he was closely associated with three of the artists also under study here, van Doesburg, Freundlich and Mondrian. The discussion on these, as well as on Kupka, Delaunay and Albers, takes into consideration that, unlike Torres-García, they all developed their practice within a cultural context that celebrated the gothic. Their rapport with the gothic is analysed, when relevant, in the light of Worringer's theories on the subject. Additionally, several of these artists' interest in the pictorial constructive was concomitant with research into the sensorial properties of colour fragmentation and interaction. This area of pictorial enquiry, in which the study of stained glass proved especially useful, is also explored in the relevant cases. The focus on the constructive as a common denominator to the practice of all these artists, and a common motivator of their engagement with the cathedral, implies a largely formal approach to the issue at hand. This, nevertheless, takes into consideration that these artists' rapport with the gothic was mediated by contemporary discourses surrounding the Middle Ages and their legacy. As such, the analysis necessarily considers the ideological factors (political leanings, identitary issues, religious backgrounds) that came into play in each artist's relationship with the medieval. This, ultimately, serves to address the problem of how these forward-looking artists found a legitimate place in their modernist practice for references sourced in the medieval past.A presente tese explora as atitudes do modernismo em relação com o passado em geral e o passado medieval em particular, por meio de uma análise da relevância da arquitetura e do vitral góticos nas pesquisas pictóricas construtivas de Joaquín Torres-García, František Kupka, Robert Delaunay, Otto Freundlich, Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg e Josef Albers. Torres-García constitui o caso de estudo da tese uma vez que a sua obra pictórica e teórica evidencia um diálogo com o medieval que até a data passou largamente desapercebido. O estudo traça portanto a complexa e variável relação que Torres-García estabelece com o gótico ao longo do tempo, e examina o lugar deste referente na sua prática pictórica construtiva. Dois períodos concretos da carreira de Torres-García merecem particular atenção. Em primeiro lugar, a sua transição do Noucentisme para a vanguarda, em meados da década de 1910 em Barcelona, que coincide com o seu envolvimento num projeto de vitral para um edifício público. Este período é analisado à luz das atitudes predominantes em relação ao medieval no ambiente classicista noucentista de Barcelona, atitudes estas que são inferidas a partir de uma análise abrangente da sua expressão nas revistas modernistas da cidade. Um segundo período de interesse situa-se nos finais da década de 1920, quando Torres-García formula o Universalismo Construtivo, a sua singular linguagem primitiva-construtiva que ele próprio caracteriza como "um estilo de catedral", num momento em trabalha em estreita associação com três dos artistas objeto de estudo desta tese: van Doesburg, Freundlich e Mondrian. A discussão acerca da obra destes três artistas, bem como a de Kupka, Delaunay e Albers, leva em consideração que, ao contrário de Torres-García, todos eles desenvolveram a sua prática num contexto cultural que celebrava o legado gótico. A sua relação com o gótico é examinada, segundo o caso, à luz das teorias de Wilhelm Worringer sobre a arquitetura medieval. Em alguns dos artistas aqui contemplados, ao interesse pela dimensão construtiva da pintura acrescia a pesquisa sobre as propriedades sensoriais da fragmentação e a interação da cor. Esta área de pesquisa pictórica, em que o estudo do vitral se revelou particularmente fecundo, é também explorada aqui para os casos pertinentes

discourse and contingency in Joaquín Torres-García's murals

UIDB/00417/2020 UIDP/00417/2020The age-old practice of mural painting had historically been a slow, labour-intensive art form, subject to the whims of patronage and intended as a permanent fixture of buildings. How could it hold its relevance in the fast-paced era of the machine, where critical discourse reified artistic freedom, a market economy favoured the portable, commodifiable easel painting, and architectural thinking preferred its walls bare? Exploring this issue requires tracing the associations that were established between mural painting and various historical periods – from Mediterranean antiquity to pre-Hispanic America and medieval and Renaissance Europe – and considering how these associations were used by artists to renew and legitimise its practice in the twentieth century. This chapter discusses the primitivist traits that can be found in Joaquín Torres-García's mural theory and oeuvre while taking into consideration this artist's dual European and Latin American background and practice, and examines the extent to which these were informed by political and ideological factors, including issues of national and regional identity.publishersversionpublishe

Joaquín Torres-García's 'Classical Primitivism' - from Arcadian Frescoes to Constructive Universalism

PTDC/ART-HIS/29837/2017 UIDB/00417/2020 UIDP/00417/2020This paper explores the place of the Mediterranean as the main source of primitive references for modern art in the noucentista art scene of Catalonia (Spain) in the early 20th century. It does so by focusing on the case of Joaquín Torres-García, a leading figure of the movement and advocate for the modernisation of mural painting. The discussion considers the noucentista conflation of the notions of classical and primitive, examines how it finds expression in Torres-García’s controversial frescoes for the seat of the regional government, and posits its relevance to the Constructive Universalism pictorial idiom developed by the artist in the late 1920s.publishersversionpublishe

Do apóstolo ao peregrino: a iconografia de São Tiago na escultura devocional medieval em Portugal

Neste artigo explorar-se-á a evolução da iconografia de São Tiago o Maior, enquanto peregrino, no contexto da escultura devocional medieval em Portugal. Numa primeira parte investigam-se as origens desta figuração no âmbito ibérico, tendo em conta a dupla influência da iconografia de Cristo, igualmente peregrino, e da imaginária popular. A seguir procede-se a uma análise serial de um corpus de imagens devocionais que permitem traçar a sua evolução em Portugal entre os séculos XIV e XVI, e conclui-se com uma apreciação dos valores simbólicos implícitos nestas figurações.The purpose of this article is to explore the evolving iconography of Saint James the Greater, as a pilgrim, in medieval votive sculpture in Portugal. The first part of the text focuses on the origins of this figuration in an Iberian context, taking into account two lines of influence: the iconography of Christ himself as a pilgrim, and popular imagery. The study then proceeds to the serial analysis of a corpus of devotional images in order to trace their evolution in Portugal between the 14th and the 16th centuries, and concludes by reflecting on the symbolic values implicit in this kind of figuration

Southern modernisms from A to Z and back again

The book now being published results from a research project entitled Southern Modernisms that ran from March 2014 to May 2015 with FCT funding. The aim of the project was to explore the possibility of constructing a more inclusive, plural notion of modernism through the revision of Modernism’s prevailing definition – its stylistic focus, its formalist and anti-representative bias, as well as its autonomic assumptions, or, as far as architecture is concerned, its functionalist credo. This critical undertaking was grounded on the hypothesis that southern European modernisms featured a strong entrenchment in popular culture (folk art and vernacular architecture), and that this characteristic could be understood as anticipating some of the premises of, what would later become known as, critical regionalismo. (...

The Mediterranean as the Primitive Source for Noucentisme: Joaquín Torres-García’s ‘Classical Primitivism’—from Arcadian Frescoes to Constructive Universalism

This paper explores the place of the Mediterranean as the main source of primitive references for modern art in the noucentista art scene of Catalonia (Spain) in the early 20th century. It does so by focusing on the case of Joaquín Torres- García, a leading figure of the movement and advocate for the modernisation of mural painting. The discussion considers the noucentista conflation of the notions of classical and primitive, examines how it finds expression in Torres- García’s controversial frescoes for the seat of the regional government, and posits its relevance to the Constructive Universalism pictorial idiom developed by the artist in the late 1920s

Do apóstolo ao peregrino: a iconografia de São Tiago na escultura devocional medieval em Portugal

The purpose of this article is to explore the evolving iconography of Saint James the Greater, as a pilgrim, in medieval votive sculpture in Portugal. The first part of the text focuses on the origins of this figuration in an Iberian context, taking into account two lines of influence: the iconography of Christ himself as a pilgrim, and popular imagery. The study then proceeds to the serial analysis of a corpus of devotional images in order to trace their evolution in Portugal between the 14th and the 16th centuries, and concludes by reflecting on the symbolic values implicit in this kind of figuration.Neste artigo explorar-se-á a evolução da iconografia de São Tiago o Maior, enquanto peregrino, no contexto da escultura devocional medieval em Portugal. Numa primeira parte investigam-se as origens desta figuração no âmbito ibérico, tendo em conta a dupla influência da iconografia de Cristo, igualmente peregrino, e da imaginária popular. A seguir procede-se a uma análise serial de um corpus de imagens devocionais que permitem traçar a sua evolução em Portugal entre os séculos XIV e XVI, e concluise com uma apreciação dos valores simbólicos implícitos nestas figurações

(No) Laughing Matter: Modernism and Xavier Nogués’ Cartoons

This paper discusses the notion of modernism by relating it to three artistic movements – Modernisme, Noucentisme and the Avant-garde – which developed in Catalonia between the 1880s and the early 1920s. From a common commitment to modernity these three movements produced, nonetheless, widely different aesthetic proposals. Notwithstanding their differences, this paper identifies common features in their artistic practices in order to contribute to the ongoing critical review of modernism. Thus, rather than a self-referential, medium-specific quest with abstraction as a natural endpoint, modernism is presented here as an open, interrogative artistic practice engaged in a debate in pursuit of ‘the modern’. This understanding of modernism is then tested against the case of Xavier Nogués, an artist associated with Noucentisme, and his contribution to the artistic debate of his time through the necessarily figurative language of caricature

Southern Modernisms. Critical Stances through Regional Appropriations. Conference proceedings

The hegemonic definition of Modernism has been subjected to an intense critical revision process that began several decades ago. This process has contributed to the significant broadening of the modernist canon by challenging its primal essentialist assumptions and formalist interpretations in the fields of both the visual arts and architecture. This conference aims to further expand this revision, as it seeks to discuss the notion of “Southern Modernisms” by considering the hypothesis that regional appropriations, both in Southern Europe and the Southern hemisphere, entailed important critical stances that have remained unseen or poorly explored by art and architectural historians. In association with the Southern Modernisms research project (FCT – EXPL/CPC-HAT/0191/2013), we want to consider the entrenchment of southern modernisms in popular culture (folk art and vernacular architecture) as anticipating some of the premises of what would later become known as critical regionalism. It is therefore our purpose to explore a research path that runs parallel to key claims on modernism’s intertwinement with bourgeois society and mass culture, by questioning the idea that an aesthetically significant regionalism – one that resists to the colonization of international styles and is supported by critical awareness – occurred only in the field of architecture, and can only be represented as a postmodernist turn. (...