Student: Emily Matt
Advisor: CCErdre Hennebury
This thesis investigates the dissemination of Baroque architectural and cultural ideas from Portugal to Brazil through the vehicle of colonization. In addition to evaluating propagated characteristics, the research highlights the variations in Brazilian Baroque that are distinct from Portuguese architectural developments. While primarily architectural in that it refers to the formal typology and decorative programs of churches built in the Baroque period, the thesis contains intrinsic references to other disciplines including sociology and urbanism, which fit within the overarching discourse of colonialism.
Relying on historical interpretive analysis as the primary research method, this thesis features
comparative case studies of churches in Portugal and Brazil. The analytical framework, emerging from extensive reading on Baroque architecture and a detailed survey of Baroque church characteristics, focuses on four primary Baroque interior and facade architectural characteristics:
(1) dynamic, yet spatially unified floor plans that expanded Renaissance orthogonality by introducing more complex geometries such as the octagon;
(2) elaborate decorative programs featuring dramatic quadratura paintings, azulejos (tilework), and narrative sequences;
(3) a dominant, centralized entry which in Iberian countries was most frequently expressed through a
two-tower façade; and finally;
(4) the pilgrimage stair, a design feature that emphasizes the processional journey for the devout as they move from the secular space of the city to the sacred realm of the sanctuary.
Through detailed architectural analysis, this research aims to supplement existing Iberian and Iberian-American Baroque scholarship to create a more complete picture of the Baroque as a whole from its general aesthetic vocabulary to the specific details, from illusionistic paintings to city planning. While the church as a cornerstone of urban settlement is a common theme in European settlements, a study of Brazilian cities during the Baroque period provides another lens through which to evaluate the architectural relationship between the Portugal and its colonies. This typological analysis of Brazilian Baroque architecture might reveal insights into the material, social, political, and historical contexts of Brazilian colonialism and thus contribute to urban and sociological discourses.
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