Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 38.72515549418185, -9.113919514804483

The Museu Nacional do Azulejo, in Lisbon, is one of the most important museums in Portugal, for its unique collection, dedicated to the tile, an artistic expression that differentiates Portuguese culture, and for the unique building in which it is housed, the former Convent of Madre de Deus, founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor (1458-1525).

In the collection, a highlight is a tile panel representing a panoramic view of Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.

History of MNAz

From Casa Pia annex to the National Museum of Ancient Art annex

After the interventions of José Maria Nepomuceno and Liberato Telles, the buildings of the Convent and Church of Madre de Deus were subject to numerous repairs and changes to spaces, always as an integral part of Asilo D. Maria Pia. Tile panels were taken to the site and stored from other locations, which were initially intended to decorate the interior of the building, but ended up being stored there in crates.

The hypothesis then arose of placing several monuments under the tutelage of the National Museum of Ancient Art, in order to be able to safeguard their heritage, it being established, in a letter from its director João Couto dated 15 December 1954, that the Madre de Deus church and facilities, in Xabregas, should be considered annexes to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.

The 500th anniversary of the birth of Queen D. Leonor

With the aim of holding an exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Queen Leonor, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation covered the costs of major restoration works, namely the cloister and paintings of the Madre de Deus Church.

In 1957, preparatory work began, considering that it was considered necessary to classify the entire complex as a national monument, and by ministerial approval order on November 12, 1957, it was determined that it would be integrated into the National Museum of Ancient Art through a specific political guidelines for safeguarding assets.

When, on January 7, 1958, the exhibition ended, the buildings were handed over to that museum, and the question of using the spaces for the installation of a Tile Museum was soon raised.

A tile museum

The tiles were transferred to Madre de Deus, with Engineer João Miguel dos Santos Simões, effective member of the Academia Nacional de Belas-Artes, responsible for the Tile Studies Brigade of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and curator-assistant at the National Museum of Ancient Art.

In 1965, the General Director of Higher Education and Fine Arts, concluding that he would study the possibility of opening the Museum to the public, in the part given as assembled, considered it essential to create certain conditions for its implementation.

In a piece of information dated December 12, 1967, Santos Simões refers to the exhibition, which took place on September 30, about the Azulejo Museum, informing that even though it may be open to the public, as it stands, it would be convenient to abbreviate minor repairs and finishing work.

On February 3, 1971, Santos Simões, in a letter addressed to the director of the National Museum of Ancient Art, requests the need for an urgent meeting between all the institutions involved in the Convent of Madre de Deus/Museu do Azulejo, in order to the problem of its imperious inauguration should be reviewed. In order to continue the tasks initiated by Santos Simões, Rafael Salinas Calado was invited, in 1973, by Maria José Mendonça to take charge of the Ceramics Section of the National Museum of Ancient Art, located since 1959 in the former Convent of Madre de Deus.

Decree-Law n.º 404/80, of 26th September, granted the emancipation of the Museu do Azulejo, making it national and making it autonomous in relation to the National Museum of Ancient Art, of which it was an annex since 18th December from 1965.

The building

The foundation

Founded on the initiative of Queen D. Leonor (1458-1525), wife of D. João II and sister of D. Manuel, the convent space of Madre de Deus began with a few houses and a vegetable garden bought from the widow of Álvaro da Cunha , which constituted a modest nucleus with the aim of housing a small group of Barefoot Franciscan nuns of the first Rule of Santa Clara, recently arrived from the Convent of Jesus in Setúbal. The church, a fundamental space for the community, was completed only later.

The site where the monastic complex of Madre de Deus grew, constituted one of the most pleasant places on the edge of Lisbon, bathed by the river and populated by vegetable gardens and orchards that supplied the city. Today, little is known about the primitive nucleus of the monastery, although it is safe to say that its plan repeats that of the Monastery of the Rose and, only an iconographic record that reports the arrival of the relics of Santa Auta to the convent, a fact that actually occurred in 1517, shows us a building with inaccuracies in the architectural representation visible in terms of proportions, and a certain decorative exaggeration.

The architectural ensemble left by D. Leonor, on the date of her death, was truly small, and the nuns' complaints led to a major remodeling campaign undertaken by D. João III.

The campaign of D. João III

According to documents from the time, King João III ordered the architect Diogo de Torralva to design a new church for Madre de Deus, with larger dimensions and a new choir. The conventual chronicles also inform that the former church of D. Leonor was adapted to the chapter room. The cloister also dates from this campaign, with its stonework balconies and devout chapels.

Thus, a building with classical roots was born, with a chancel with a square plan, covered by a dome, whose drum would be torn open by windows that the nuns asked the King to close, as they felt the want. The very articulation of the chancel with the body of the church, with a single nave, refers to Serlian models. Likewise, the cloister reflects the classic models, not only in terms of the new scale but also in terms of architectural language.

The devotion to the convent was so felt by D. João III that he had a walkway built from the Palace next to the church so that he could attend mass from the royal tribune. In the words of Friar Jerónimo de Belém, to better express his love, "a portrait was ordered, and the Queen his wife, and in two paintings their portraits are found in the choir".

"A church all sewn in gold"

At the end of the 17th century, King D. Pedro II again went to the care of the Poor Clare nuns of the Madre de Deus Monastery, ordering it to be repaired almost entirely again. For this purpose, he called João Rebello de Campos, Attorney at Miter for Bishop D. Jerónimo Soares and possessor of a great genius for outlining plans for buildings, according to Diogo Barbosa de Machado.

This campaign was mainly felt at a decorative level, as it dates from this period (cª 1670-1690) to paint the ceilings of the church, high choir and body of the church in the workshop of Marcos da Cruz and Bento Coelho da Silveira. The Dutch tile panels were placed in 1686 at the expense of Luís Correia da Paz, a member of the court of the Board of Commerce of Brazil who, in exchange, received permission from the nuns to have him buried, along with his family members, in a ram and grave in the church of the convent. In addition to the paintings and tiles, the church received gilded carved altars, as well as gilding on the frames of the paintings that decorated the church and the high choir.

In 1707, Friar Agostinho de Santa Maria gave his testimony before the baroque works of the 17th century: the church has an open sky; not only for the spiritual consolation that all those who enter it receive their souls, but also in the ornaments, aceyo and wealth of it, which is all baked in gold; and adorned with rich and excellent paintings.

The reign of King João V brought new decorative campaigns to the Monastery. Under the supervision of Father José Pacheco da Cunha, a new sacristy was built (1746-1750) for which painter André Gonçalves, master engraver Félix Adauto da Cunha, carpenter António da Silva, master locksmith Manuel da Rocha and the farmers Luís João and Amaro Gonçalves. At the same time, the carving of the high choir and the church (crossing arch) also began to be renovated in these years. This sacristan is also credited with the decorative campaign at Casa do Ante-choro, with paintings depicting the Life of Santo António attributed to André Gonçalves' workshop.

The 1755 earthquake caused some damage to the building, in particular the church with the collapse of walls halfway with the choir, the destruction of the main altar, the fall of paintings from the church ceiling and the high choir.

King D. José paid for the repair work, which consisted of building a new tribune, restoring it and producing new paintings. In this campaign, again, the painter André Gonçalves and the carver Félix Adauto participated, as well as the gilders Vicente Ribeiro, José Joaquim and the carpenter Mestre Bernardino. The first artists are documented painting three new oil panels for the church and the execution of the gilded pulpit, respectively.

This entire set produced great emotion in the faithful due to the complete decoration of the spaces, characteristic of the Baroque period, and the richness of the materials (blue of the tiles, the gold of the carving, the polychrome of the oil paintings) contributing to exemplify the concept of total art.

The D. Maria Pia Asylum

The 19th century brought profound institutional and functional changes to the building, with the extinction of the religious orders, in 1834, putting an end to the religious activities of that institution.

From 1896, extensive restoration work began, aimed at converting the available spaces and adapting them to a new civil use – the installation of Asilo D. Maria Pia, according to a historicist attitude understandable in a late-Romantic culture that prevailed at the high.

Tile panels were taken to the site and stored, which were initially intended to decorate the spaces, but which ended up remaining there in crates.

The MNAz

At the beginning of the 20th century, in order to safeguard its heritage, several monuments were placed under the tutelage of the National Museum of Ancient Art, establishing that the Church and premises of Madre de Deus, in Xabregas, should be considered as annexes to that national museum.

With the celebrations of the fifth centenary of the birth of Queen Leonor, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation funded major works in the convent's cloister, in order to hold a large evocative exhibition there. When, on January 7, 1958, the exhibition ended, the question of using those spaces for the installation of a Tile Museum was immediately raised.

Under the attentive and knowledgeable guidance of Eng. João Miguel dos Santos Simões, the Museu do Azulejo grew, room by room, conquering the space occupied by the workshops at Asilo D. Maria Pia.

Finally, on September 26, 1980, the Museu do Azulejo emancipated itself, becoming National and becoming autonomous in relation to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, of which it had been an annex since December 18, 1965.

Like any organism, buildings also need to grow, to change, to enhance themselves, concentrating in themselves memory places and past experiences, becoming, for all this, living spaces.

Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 38.72515549418185, -9.113919514804483

The Museu Nacional do Azulejo, in Lisbon, is one of the most important museums in Portugal, for its unique collection, dedicated to the tile, an artistic expression that differentiates Portuguese culture, and for the unique building in which it is housed, the former Convent of Madre de Deus, founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor (1458-1525).

In the collection, a highlight is a tile panel representing a panoramic view of Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.

History of MNAz

From Casa Pia annex to the National Museum of Ancient Art annex

After the interventions of José Maria Nepomuceno and Liberato Telles, the buildings of the Convent and Church of Madre de Deus were subject to numerous repairs and changes to spaces, always as an integral part of Asilo D. Maria Pia. Tile panels were taken to the site and stored from other locations, which were initially intended to decorate the interior of the building, but ended up being stored there in crates.

The hypothesis then arose of placing several monuments under the tutelage of the National Museum of Ancient Art, in order to be able to safeguard their heritage, it being established, in a letter from its director João Couto dated 15 December 1954, that the Madre de Deus church and facilities, in Xabregas, should be considered annexes to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.

The 500th anniversary of the birth of Queen D. Leonor

With the aim of holding an exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Queen Leonor, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation covered the costs of major restoration works, namely the cloister and paintings of the Madre de Deus Church.

In 1957, preparatory work began, considering that it was considered necessary to classify the entire complex as a national monument, and by ministerial approval order on November 12, 1957, it was determined that it would be integrated into the National Museum of Ancient Art through a specific political guidelines for safeguarding assets.

When, on January 7, 1958, the exhibition ended, the buildings were handed over to that museum, and the question of using the spaces for the installation of a Tile Museum was soon raised.

A tile museum

The tiles were transferred to Madre de Deus, with Engineer João Miguel dos Santos Simões, effective member of the Academia Nacional de Belas-Artes, responsible for the Tile Studies Brigade of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and curator-assistant at the National Museum of Ancient Art.

In 1965, the General Director of Higher Education and Fine Arts, concluding that he would study the possibility of opening the Museum to the public, in the part given as assembled, considered it essential to create certain conditions for its implementation.

In a piece of information dated December 12, 1967, Santos Simões refers to the exhibition, which took place on September 30, about the Azulejo Museum, informing that even though it may be open to the public, as it stands, it would be convenient to abbreviate minor repairs and finishing work.

On February 3, 1971, Santos Simões, in a letter addressed to the director of the National Museum of Ancient Art, requests the need for an urgent meeting between all the institutions involved in the Convent of Madre de Deus/Museu do Azulejo, in order to the problem of its imperious inauguration should be reviewed. In order to continue the tasks initiated by Santos Simões, Rafael Salinas Calado was invited, in 1973, by Maria José Mendonça to take charge of the Ceramics Section of the National Museum of Ancient Art, located since 1959 in the former Convent of Madre de Deus.

Decree-Law n.º 404/80, of 26th September, granted the emancipation of the Museu do Azulejo, making it national and making it autonomous in relation to the National Museum of Ancient Art, of which it was an annex since 18th December from 1965.

The building

The foundation

Founded on the initiative of Queen D. Leonor (1458-1525), wife of D. João II and sister of D. Manuel, the convent space of Madre de Deus began with a few houses and a vegetable garden bought from the widow of Álvaro da Cunha , which constituted a modest nucleus with the aim of housing a small group of Barefoot Franciscan nuns of the first Rule of Santa Clara, recently arrived from the Convent of Jesus in Setúbal. The church, a fundamental space for the community, was completed only later.

The site where the monastic complex of Madre de Deus grew, constituted one of the most pleasant places on the edge of Lisbon, bathed by the river and populated by vegetable gardens and orchards that supplied the city. Today, little is known about the primitive nucleus of the monastery, although it is safe to say that its plan repeats that of the Monastery of the Rose and, only an iconographic record that reports the arrival of the relics of Santa Auta to the convent, a fact that actually occurred in 1517, shows us a building with inaccuracies in the architectural representation visible in terms of proportions, and a certain decorative exaggeration.

The architectural ensemble left by D. Leonor, on the date of her death, was truly small, and the nuns' complaints led to a major remodeling campaign undertaken by D. João III.

The campaign of D. João III

According to documents from the time, King João III ordered the architect Diogo de Torralva to design a new church for Madre de Deus, with larger dimensions and a new choir. The conventual chronicles also inform that the former church of D. Leonor was adapted to the chapter room. The cloister also dates from this campaign, with its stonework balconies and devout chapels.

Thus, a building with classical roots was born, with a chancel with a square plan, covered by a dome, whose drum would be torn open by windows that the nuns asked the King to close, as they felt the want. The very articulation of the chancel with the body of the church, with a single nave, refers to Serlian models. Likewise, the cloister reflects the classic models, not only in terms of the new scale but also in terms of architectural language.

The devotion to the convent was so felt by D. João III that he had a walkway built from the Palace next to the church so that he could attend mass from the royal tribune. In the words of Friar Jerónimo de Belém, to better express his love, "a portrait was ordered, and the Queen his wife, and in two paintings their portraits are found in the choir".

"A church all sewn in gold"

At the end of the 17th century, King D. Pedro II again went to the care of the Poor Clare nuns of the Madre de Deus Monastery, ordering it to be repaired almost entirely again. For this purpose, he called João Rebello de Campos, Attorney at Miter for Bishop D. Jerónimo Soares and possessor of a great genius for outlining plans for buildings, according to Diogo Barbosa de Machado.

This campaign was mainly felt at a decorative level, as it dates from this period (cª 1670-1690) to paint the ceilings of the church, high choir and body of the church in the workshop of Marcos da Cruz and Bento Coelho da Silveira. The Dutch tile panels were placed in 1686 at the expense of Luís Correia da Paz, a member of the court of the Board of Commerce of Brazil who, in exchange, received permission from the nuns to have him buried, along with his family members, in a ram and grave in the church of the convent. In addition to the paintings and tiles, the church received gilded carved altars, as well as gilding on the frames of the paintings that decorated the church and the high choir.

In 1707, Friar Agostinho de Santa Maria gave his testimony before the baroque works of the 17th century: the church has an open sky; not only for the spiritual consolation that all those who enter it receive their souls, but also in the ornaments, aceyo and wealth of it, which is all baked in gold; and adorned with rich and excellent paintings.

The reign of King João V brought new decorative campaigns to the Monastery. Under the supervision of Father José Pacheco da Cunha, a new sacristy was built (1746-1750) for which painter André Gonçalves, master engraver Félix Adauto da Cunha, carpenter António da Silva, master locksmith Manuel da Rocha and the farmers Luís João and Amaro Gonçalves. At the same time, the carving of the high choir and the church (crossing arch) also began to be renovated in these years. This sacristan is also credited with the decorative campaign at Casa do Ante-choro, with paintings depicting the Life of Santo António attributed to André Gonçalves' workshop.

The 1755 earthquake caused some damage to the building, in particular the church with the collapse of walls halfway with the choir, the destruction of the main altar, the fall of paintings from the church ceiling and the high choir.

King D. José paid for the repair work, which consisted of building a new tribune, restoring it and producing new paintings. In this campaign, again, the painter André Gonçalves and the carver Félix Adauto participated, as well as the gilders Vicente Ribeiro, José Joaquim and the carpenter Mestre Bernardino. The first artists are documented painting three new oil panels for the church and the execution of the gilded pulpit, respectively.

This entire set produced great emotion in the faithful due to the complete decoration of the spaces, characteristic of the Baroque period, and the richness of the materials (blue of the tiles, the gold of the carving, the polychrome of the oil paintings) contributing to exemplify the concept of total art.

The D. Maria Pia Asylum

The 19th century brought profound institutional and functional changes to the building, with the extinction of the religious orders, in 1834, putting an end to the religious activities of that institution.

From 1896, extensive restoration work began, aimed at converting the available spaces and adapting them to a new civil use – the installation of Asilo D. Maria Pia, according to a historicist attitude understandable in a late-Romantic culture that prevailed at the high.

Tile panels were taken to the site and stored, which were initially intended to decorate the spaces, but which ended up remaining there in crates.

The MNAz

At the beginning of the 20th century, in order to safeguard its heritage, several monuments were placed under the tutelage of the National Museum of Ancient Art, establishing that the Church and premises of Madre de Deus, in Xabregas, should be considered as annexes to that national museum.

With the celebrations of the fifth centenary of the birth of Queen Leonor, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation funded major works in the convent's cloister, in order to hold a large evocative exhibition there. When, on January 7, 1958, the exhibition ended, the question of using those spaces for the installation of a Tile Museum was immediately raised.

Under the attentive and knowledgeable guidance of Eng. João Miguel dos Santos Simões, the Museu do Azulejo grew, room by room, conquering the space occupied by the workshops at Asilo D. Maria Pia.

Finally, on September 26, 1980, the Museu do Azulejo emancipated itself, becoming National and becoming autonomous in relation to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, of which it had been an annex since December 18, 1965.

Like any organism, buildings also need to grow, to change, to enhance themselves, concentrating in themselves memory places and past experiences, becoming, for all this, living spaces.