Synopses & Reviews
This important contribution to eighteenth-century European studies is the first to explore the relationships between artists, patrons and connoisseurs in Portugal in the period. Angela Delaforce describes the splendor and magnificent ceremonial of the court of the Braganca monarch, Dom Joao V, adorned with works of art he commissioned from the leading masters in Italy and France and made possible by the fabulous wealth arriving from colonial Brazil. The author has gathered together a wealth of previously unpublished archival material discovered in Portugal and Italy to trace the development of these fascinating patterns of international patronage.
Review
"One cannot but welcome the publication of Art and Patronage in Eighteenth-Century Portugal by Angela Delaforce. The book is neither a general history of Portuguese art nor, in view of its depth and scope, a simple study of patronage." Society of Architectural Historians"Delaforce, an authority on Iberian art, demonstrates the importance of royal, aristocratic, and ecclesiastical support for commissioning and collecting art ... although not for general readers, this impressive study will be welcomed by specialists in Portuguese culture and 18th-century European art." Choice"The book is very valuable and significant, not only for the major contribution it makes to the study of eighteenth-century art in Europe generally, but also for its contribution to the study of Portuguese art patronage during its greatest period of international accomplishment." CAA Reviews
Synopsis
A study of the artists, patrons, collectors and connoisseurs in eighteenth-century Portugal.
Table of Contents
Abbreviations; List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Prologue: the Conquest of India and the Paço da Ribeira; 2. The Adornment of the Paço da Ribeira and Dom João V's 'Precious Treasury'; 3. The Great Library at the Paço da Ribeira; 4. Art and Diplomacy: the Marquês de Abrantes and the Splendour of his Embassy to Rome; 5. The 'New Solomon': Dom João V and 'An Image of the Celestial Court on Earth'; 6. 'Good Taste and Opulence': Collecting by the Clergy and Nobility; 7. The Church as Patron: the 'Universal Artist' in Northern Portugal; 8. The Court of Dom JoséI and the New Lisbon: Grandeur and Vanity; 9. Collectors and Connoisseurs in Late Eighteenth-century Portugal; 10. Academia: Art, Theory and Design; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Index.