Graça Church and Convent

Rebuilt in the 1530s, with royal patronage, Graca Church has a longitudinal single nave plan, preceded by a narthex and a choir over the entrance. Outside, the main focus of interest lies in the original facade, by Nicolau Chanterenne, with double pediment composition, various decorative and sculptural elements, and four Atlanteans seated along the top. Inside, in the space of the main chapel (which was later allocated to the mausoleum of D. Afonso bishop of Évora), three windows set in perspective stand out, with decoration in low relief attributed to the same artist (the missing cenotaph is in the Museum of Évora).

Inside the convent the classic cloister attributed to Miguel de Arruda stands out. Also worth of mention is the small tower adjacent to the church which contains the first coffered dome of the Portuguese Renaissance (Moreira, 1991).

The complex underwent several changes over time, not only because of the multiple collapses of the nave (1656, 1884) and parts of the convent (1957), but also because of the adaptation of the convent's dependencies to the different occupations after the extinction of the religious orders (1834).

The work developed by the students consisted in a basic survey of the existing structures, the organization of a photographic archive and the elaboration of interpretation drawings of several moments that correspond to the main changes that are thought to have taken place in the church and cloister.

• BRANCO, Manuel – "Datação e autoria da Igreja da Graça de Évora e do túmulo de D. Afonso de Portugal". Cadernos de História da Arte. Lisboa: Instituto de História da Arte – Fac. de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa. Nº 1 (1991), pp. 141-163
• ESPANCA, Túlio - Inventário Artístico de Portugal – Concelho de Évora, vol. I. Lisboa: Academia Nacional de Belas Artes, 1966
• MOREIRA , Rafael – A Arquitectura do Renascimento no Sul de Portugal: a encomenda régia entre o moderno e o romano. Lisboa : [s.n.], 1991. Tese de doutoramento em História de Arte apresentada à Fac. de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Univ. Nova de Lisboa
• SIPA | DGPC

Ana Ferreira  ·  José Freitas  ·  Mariana Campos  ·  Mónica Jorge  ·  Pedro Santos  ·  Suse Mariz

2012/2013