A Historiografia da Arquitectura da Época Românica em Portugal (1870-2010)

Abstract

In the international sphere, the appreciation of the medieval architecture commenced in the 17th century and increased throughout the 19th century. Only at that stage, in the first quarter of the 1800s, do the first studies which differentiate the formal, constructive and iconographic characteristics of the Romanesque style compared to the Gothic style begin to appear. The establishment of methodologies, the definition of chronologies and the stylistic characterization created a conceptual framework and launched the grounds for the development of the discipline in what concerns the alter ego of the Romanesque in relation to the Gothic. In Portugal, the study of the Romanesque occurs rather late when compared to the remaining European reality. The first artwork devoted to this artistic style dates from 1870 and its study has been carried out until the present day, being defined through successive phases of knowledge which reflect well dated approaches, themes and problematics. Nevertheless, the historiography conquests and developments made on the subject in the meantime, which materialize in a vast number of published works, largely contributed to the actual knowledge of the Portuguese Romanesque. The image that was construed of the Romanesque escorts the evolution of writings regarding such a representative moment of Portuguese architecture, which is linked to the foundation of Portugal and the kingdom of D. Afonso Henriques (1143-1185). This understanding influenced the manner in which the Romanesque period architecture was restored roughly during the first half of the 20th century. This is even more significant whereas this results in the current image of the Romanesque architecture, as we know it today. Throughout this wide chronology, three authors are distinguished due to the conceptual breakout defined by their thoughts and their writings. The publishing of the first artwork devoted to the Romanesque architecture, the Reliquias da architectura romano-byzantina em Portugal e particularmente na cidade de Coimbra, dated 1870 is owed to Augusto Filipe Simões (1835-1884). With Manuel Monteiro (1879-1952) the grounds of the subsequent historiography on Romanesque period architecture in Portugal were launched, by defining typologies, classifying dialects, establishing chronologies and identifying influences. Only later with Carlos Alberto Ferreira de Almeida (1934-1996) a new conceptual breakout in the writings on Romanesque was felt, due to the fact that this author, amongst many other aspects, tried to understand the Romanesque in its era and its profound anthropologic relationship with the territory where it is located. The originality of the Portuguese Romanesque commenced being recognized by the Romanesque historiography. Its intimate relationship with the territory, the nuclear importance which its architectonic testimonies acquire in the territorial organization, at diversified levels, has been taken on board by those devoted to its study. Additionally, the perception of the strong presence of foreign influences, despite the associated problematics and adapted in a specific context where prior artistic existences acquired a nuclear role, enhance even more the unique character of the Portuguese architecture in the Romanesque period.