Seven Images for the Liturgical Calendar

Work dedicated to the set of seven 17th-century paintings of the main altarpiece of the Church of São Roque of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, a pictorial nucleus that represents biblical scenes from the New Testament that are cyclically displayed, accompanying, throughout the year, the liturgical calendar. This historical tradition, initiated in the 17th century at the Church of São Roque, has persisted to this day. The present study allows for a new perspective on this set of canvases commissioned by the Society of Jesus, a thematic nucleus endowed with great relevance in the context of religious iconography and the History of Portuguese Art. This Jesuit artistic legacy documents a unique catechetical practice of the Church of São Roque, which translates into the cyclical exhibition of the canvases that describe the biblical episodes of the Imposition of the Name of Jesus (Circumcision), Adoration of the Shepherds, Annunciation, Calvary, Resurrection, Pentecost, and Assumption. This publication constitutes the second volume of the Pictorial Cycles Collection, a bilingual collection (Portuguese / English) dedicated to pictorial series that are part of the important collection of paintings of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa.

Author: José Alberto Seabra Carvalho; Vanessa Antunes; António Salgado

Year of publication: 2006
Publisher: SCML, Museum of São Roque
ISBN: 97287611471