Aleijadinho



Aleijadinho (b. Antônio Francisco Lisboa; 1730 or 1738 – November 18, 1814) was a Colonial Brazil-born sculptor and architect, noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil.

Biography
Born in Vila Rica (Rich Town), whose name was later changed to Ouro Preto (Black Gold), Brazil, in 1738 (sometimes said to be in 1730) he was the son of Manoel Francisco de Costa Lisboa, a Portuguese and his African slave, Izabel. His father, a carpenter, had immigrated to Brazil where his skills were so in demand that he appears to have been elevated to the position of architect. When Antonio was young his father married and he was raised in his father’s home along with his half siblings. It was there he is presumed to have learned the fundamentals of sculpture, architecture and the combination of the two. Antonio first appears as a day laborer working on the Church of Our Lady of Carmel in the town of Ouro Preto, a church designed by his father.

Within a very short time he had become a noted architect himself and had designed and constructed the Chapel of the Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto. He had also executed the carvings on the building, the most notable being a round bas-relief depicting St. Francis receiving the stigmata.

It was shortly thereafter that the signs of a debilitating disease, probably leprosy, began to show and not long after that Antonio received the name by which he has come down through history, O Aleijadinho, "Little Cripple."

After that he became more and more of a recluse, working mostly at night. When he did go out in public, he would be carried through the streets in a covered palanquin by his slave/assistants.

The Twelve Prophets at Congonhas
His crowning achievement was the Twelve Prophets at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus of Matosinhos at Congonhas. A wealthy businessman, Feliciano Mendes, had built the church to fulfill a vow made while he was desperately ill. Between 1800 and 1805 Aleijadinho sculpted the twelve soapstone figures by having his assistants strap his hammer and chisels to what remained of his hands, which did not at this point include fingers. Since he no longer had feet to stand on he had pads strapped to his knees up which he’d climb the ladders needed to get him off the ground. The Twelve Prophets are arranged around the courtyard and stairway in front of the church.

The Passion Figures at Congonhas
At the bottom of the stairs is a long courtyard that is bounded by half a dozen pavilions. In each of the pavilions is a scene from the Passion of Christ. There are sixty-six life-sized figures carved in wood from 1780 to 1790, beginning with the Last Supper and ending with the Crucifixion. The main figures, Christ, Peter, James, John, the Good and Bad thieves, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, mother of Jesus are carved by Aleijadinho while the other figures, Roman soldiers, on-lookers and lesser figures were carved by his assistants. The figures were later painted by Athayde, who also painted (1828) the ceiling of Lisboa’s Church of St. Francis Assisi in Ouro Preto. One of the figures watching the crucifixion is believed to be a portrait (or self-portrait) of Aleijadinho.

Melo (see sources) writes that the prevailing religious ideals at that time were, "associated with the ideas of pain, acceptance of suffering and reflection on the passion of Christ through visual reminders of His wounds."

Antonio Francisco Lisboa died at age 84 on November 18,1814 and was buried in the Church of Our Lady of Conception of Antonio Dias under a wooden floor section with his name carved on it.

Controversy
There is some debate as to whether Aleijadinho actually existed. The theory that Aleijadinho was actually a myth was proposed by Augusto de Lima, Jr., who suggested that Aleijadinho was invented by Rodrigo Bretas in his book "Traços Biográficos de Antônio Francisco Lisboa" (Biographical Traces of Antônio Francisco Lisboa). This theory relies on the notion that there were no references to Aleijadinho until this book was written.