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Igreja Matriz (Estômbar)
Encyclopedia
The Igreja Matriz of Estômbar
in the municipality/concelho
of Lagoa (Algarve)
is situated in the heart of the town. The church is dedicated to Santiago/São Tiago (Saint James).
of Silves). The style of the main door of the church and its affinity to similar buildings such as the principal churches of Alvor and of Odiáxere, and Santa Misericórdia Church of Silves suggests the existence of a regional sub-group of Manueline
architecture in the Algarve. The popular prevailing style of the time is reflected in this church: a tripartite nave
with a wooden ceiling, no transept
, and altars
at the head of the nave
on each side of the chancel
, as well as side chapels.
The earlier church was badly damaged in the 1755 Earthquake
during which the bell tower collapsed. The Manueline
doorway survived, as did the tiling in the chancel end. Reconstruction took a number of years since various of alterations were introduced, including the replacement of the original interior column
s with cylindrical classical ones reflecting contemporary taste (a revival of the style of the second half of the sixteenth century) similar to what occurred in Lagoa
and St. Peter (São Pedro) of Faro
.
It is thought that, as in Lagoa
, the Faro master carver Manuel Francisco Xavier, among others, played a part in the design and supervision of the reconstruction. We have a record of Xavier resigning his contract in 1769 because of the death of one of his partners. Eventually the work was finished in 1770, having cost the Building Commission (Comissão Fabriqueira) the sum of 630 milréis
.
. This period saw the refurbishing of all the chapels, which in many cases also involved the disappearance of the earlier decoration. Only some wooden carvings of the 16th and 17th centuries survived, appearing in the new altar pieces side by side with more recent carvings.
The three altars at the chancel-end of the church fit the Baroque
style both in their decoration and in terms of the tile facings on the walls. The tiles covering the vaulted areas around each of the altars and the end wall of the nave above the chancel date to 1719 and reflect the popular national blue-on-white style of the period. One panel in the chancel represents St. James on a caravel
fighting the Moors
in the navel Battle of Lepanto (1571)
in which Dom John of Austria defeated the Turks
. The panel reflects the military and religious power of Christianity over Islam, an implicit message for the descendants of the Muslims still resident in the area and who still maintained certain Muslim traditions.
Since there appears to have been no major tile workshops in the Algarve at the time, recourse was made to Lisbon tile masters, and one hypothesis links these tiles to the workshop of Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes.
The altarpiece which stands out most is that of the chancel, created by the Monchique master-carver Custódio de Mesquita under a 1709 contract. This piece is significant because it is the only known piece by this particular carver. Its stylistic links to other altarpieces in the Algarve suggests his participation in a Western Algarve “school”.
The predominant style of the second half of the 18th century was Rococo
, and examples of this style appear in a few items rebuilt after the Earthquake
: the throne in the tribune
of the altarpiece in the chancel (ca. 1760); the altarpiece of the chapel of Christ Crucified; and the arches of the two chapels along the Epistle side
of the church.
medallions showing the heads of St. Peter
and St. Paul. The altarpiece dates from the third quarter of the 18th century, a good example of the Rococo
style. The central area is filled by pictures of Our Lady of Sorrows
and of St. John the Evangelist
, and by the large sculpture of Christ Crucified
. Although we do not know the creator of this piece, it appears to be by an Algarve artist, reflecting the technical and artistic mastery found elsewhere in the region.
The other side chapels are the Chapel of Saint Anthony
(Santo António) and the Chapel of the Souls (das Almas).
crucifix
from Portuguese India
. After the arrival of Europeans, ivory carvings of western religion themes were produced in large numbers in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly for the metropolitan market where they were installed in many private oratories
of wealthier people. Some of these made their way to the Algarve and some of those came into the possession of various churches, often through pious donations. The crucifix
in this church is 54 x 52 cm. Despite some damage to the fingers, it is a fine example of the 18th-century Indo-Portuguese imagination. Neither the donor nor the date of acquisition is known, other than it was part of the altarpiece of the chancel in the 19th century.
In the inside of the entrance doors are two Manueline
column
s, one on each side, on which are carved various figures framed in little niches. The long procession of figures probably alludes again to the supremacy of Christianity
over Islam
. One can pick out various musicians (with tambourines, bagpipes
, violas, etc.), members of the regular and secular clergies
, nobles, simple people, and slaves. These columns were only rediscovered in 1946; up to then they had been completely encased in thick layers of plaster and whitewash
.
Estômbar
Estômbar is a Portuguese civil parish/freguesia in the municipality/concelho of Lagoa, just west of the city of Lagoa itself. It is 23.83 km² in area, with 4,658 inhabitants ; the population density is 195.5 inhabitants per km²...
in the municipality/concelho
Concelho
Concelho , in the Portuguese language, is the word municipality, when referring to the territory. The word município is used when municipality means the organ of State...
of Lagoa (Algarve)
Lagoa (Algarve)
Lagoa Municipality is a Portuguese municipality in Faro District, in the region known as the Algarve, with about 6,100 inhabitants.Its seat is the city of Lagoa....
is situated in the heart of the town. The church is dedicated to Santiago/São Tiago (Saint James).
History
The first substantial church was probably erected in Estômbar in the first half of the 16th century (while Lagoa was still part of the municipality/concelhoConcelho
Concelho , in the Portuguese language, is the word municipality, when referring to the territory. The word município is used when municipality means the organ of State...
of Silves). The style of the main door of the church and its affinity to similar buildings such as the principal churches of Alvor and of Odiáxere, and Santa Misericórdia Church of Silves suggests the existence of a regional sub-group of Manueline
Manueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
architecture in the Algarve. The popular prevailing style of the time is reflected in this church: a tripartite nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a wooden ceiling, no transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
, and altars
Altar (Catholicism)
In the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the altar is where the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Mass may sometimes be celebrated outside a sacred place, but never without an altar, or at least an altar stone.-Precedent:...
at the head of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
on each side of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, as well as side chapels.
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
during which the bell tower collapsed. The Manueline
Manueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
doorway survived, as did the tiling in the chancel end. Reconstruction took a number of years since various of alterations were introduced, including the replacement of the original interior column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s with cylindrical classical ones reflecting contemporary taste (a revival of the style of the second half of the sixteenth century) similar to what occurred in Lagoa
Igreja Matriz (Lagoa)
The Igreja Matriz of Lagoa is situated in the heart of the city. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Light .-History and design:...
and St. Peter (São Pedro) of Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
.
It is thought that, as in Lagoa
Igreja Matriz (Lagoa)
The Igreja Matriz of Lagoa is situated in the heart of the city. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Light .-History and design:...
, the Faro master carver Manuel Francisco Xavier, among others, played a part in the design and supervision of the reconstruction. We have a record of Xavier resigning his contract in 1769 because of the death of one of his partners. Eventually the work was finished in 1770, having cost the Building Commission (Comissão Fabriqueira) the sum of 630 milréis
Portuguese real
The real was the unit of currency of Portugal from around 1430 until 1911. It replaced the dinheiro at the rate of 1 real = 840 dinheiros and was itself replaced by the escudo at a rate of 1 escudo = 1000 réis...
.
Decoration
The 18th century was a period of great prosperity, and also of great artistic activity in PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. This period saw the refurbishing of all the chapels, which in many cases also involved the disappearance of the earlier decoration. Only some wooden carvings of the 16th and 17th centuries survived, appearing in the new altar pieces side by side with more recent carvings.
The three altars at the chancel-end of the church fit the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style both in their decoration and in terms of the tile facings on the walls. The tiles covering the vaulted areas around each of the altars and the end wall of the nave above the chancel date to 1719 and reflect the popular national blue-on-white style of the period. One panel in the chancel represents St. James on a caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
fighting the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
in the navel Battle of Lepanto (1571)
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
in which Dom John of Austria defeated the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The panel reflects the military and religious power of Christianity over Islam, an implicit message for the descendants of the Muslims still resident in the area and who still maintained certain Muslim traditions.
Since there appears to have been no major tile workshops in the Algarve at the time, recourse was made to Lisbon tile masters, and one hypothesis links these tiles to the workshop of Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes.
The altarpiece which stands out most is that of the chancel, created by the Monchique master-carver Custódio de Mesquita under a 1709 contract. This piece is significant because it is the only known piece by this particular carver. Its stylistic links to other altarpieces in the Algarve suggests his participation in a Western Algarve “school”.
The predominant style of the second half of the 18th century was Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
, and examples of this style appear in a few items rebuilt after the Earthquake
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
: the throne in the tribune
Tribune (architecture)
Tribune is an ambiguous — and often misused — architectural term which can have several meanings. Today it most often refers to a dais or stage-like platform, or — in a vaguer sense — any place from which a speech can be prominently made.-Etymology:...
of the altarpiece in the chancel (ca. 1760); the altarpiece of the chapel of Christ Crucified; and the arches of the two chapels along the Epistle side
Epistle side
In the liturgical traditions of Western Christianity, the Epistle side is the term used to designate the side of a church on which the Epistle is read during the Mass or Eucharist. Facing the altar, it is the right-hand side....
of the church.
Side chapels
The Chapel of Christ Crucified (Capela do Senhor Jesus Crucificado) was constructed in 1589, according to a date on the front of the arch over it. In the same area are two RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
medallions showing the heads of St. Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and St. Paul. The altarpiece dates from the third quarter of the 18th century, a good example of the Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style. The central area is filled by pictures of Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...
and of St. John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, and by the large sculpture of Christ Crucified
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
. Although we do not know the creator of this piece, it appears to be by an Algarve artist, reflecting the technical and artistic mastery found elsewhere in the region.
The other side chapels are the Chapel of Saint Anthony
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
(Santo António) and the Chapel of the Souls (das Almas).
Other
The church has a fine ivoryIvory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
from Portuguese India
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
. After the arrival of Europeans, ivory carvings of western religion themes were produced in large numbers in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly for the metropolitan market where they were installed in many private oratories
Oratory (worship)
An oratory is a Christian room for prayer, from the Latin orare, to pray.-Catholic church:In the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass...
of wealthier people. Some of these made their way to the Algarve and some of those came into the possession of various churches, often through pious donations. The crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
in this church is 54 x 52 cm. Despite some damage to the fingers, it is a fine example of the 18th-century Indo-Portuguese imagination. Neither the donor nor the date of acquisition is known, other than it was part of the altarpiece of the chancel in the 19th century.
In the inside of the entrance doors are two Manueline
Manueline
The Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral...
column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s, one on each side, on which are carved various figures framed in little niches. The long procession of figures probably alludes again to the supremacy of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
over Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. One can pick out various musicians (with tambourines, bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, violas, etc.), members of the regular and secular clergies
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, nobles, simple people, and slaves. These columns were only rediscovered in 1946; up to then they had been completely encased in thick layers of plaster and whitewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
.