Appendix A. Manueline Style

The Manueline style (Portuguese: estilo manuelino), also known as 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. This innovative style synthesizes aspects of Late Gothic architecture with influences of the Spanish Plateresque style, Mudéjar (Moorish style), Italian urban architecture, and Flemish elements. It makes the transition from Late Gothic to Renaissance. However, it is marked by its own systematization of motifs, in large scale, symbolizing royal power. This artistic trend was known at the time as ad modum Yspaniae (in the Hispanic mode). The style was given its current name many years later, in a book in 1842 that named the style after King Manuel I of Portugal, whose reign (1495-1521) coincided with its development. Although its use had begun even before his reign, he was responsible for promoting it, and his personality had considerable influence on it. The style was much influenced by the voyages of discovery by Portuguese navigators, drawing heavily on the style and decorations of East Indian temples. This decorative style is characterized by virtuoso complex ornamentation in portals, windows, columns, and arcades.

 

 

The Torre de Belém (Tower of Belém), in Lisbon, is one of the most representative examples of Manueline style (en.wikipedia.org). Belém is the southwesternmost civil parish in the municipality of Lisbon, at the mouth of the Tejo (Tagus) River. The fortified tower was built in the early 16th century (1513-1516) under the direction of King Manuel I.

 



 Manueline exterior of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) in Lisbon (en.wikipedia.org). The Jerónimos Monastery was founded by King Manuel I around 1495. When Vasco da Gama returned from his first voyage to India (1497-1499) with samples of the gold he had discovered, the monastery project became a symbol of Portuguese expansion and is one of the most prominent examples of Manueline style. The construction of the church and monastery actually began in 1501, but came to a halt when Manuel I died in 1521; after several more stops and starts, it was completed 100 years later (1604). It is a monastery of the Order of St. Jerome and is located on the Tejo (Tagus) River, not far from the Torre de Belém.

 



 Manueline ornamentation in the cloisters of Jerónimos Monastery, Belém (Lisbon), Portugal (en.wikipedia.org).

 



 Manueline interior of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon (en.wikipedia.org).

 

The window of the Convento do Cristo (Convent of Christ) in Tomar, Portugal is a well-known example of Manueline style (Don Madill). The convent (monastery) actually has examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, and Renaissance architectural styles. It was founded by the Knights Templar in 1118 and its original construction in Romanesque style continued until the late 12th century. After the dissolution of The Knights Templar, the convent was transferred to the Order Of Christ. When Prince Henry the Navigator was leader bears most of the typical Manueline motifs: the symbols of the Order of Christ and of Manuel I (featuring an armillary sphere), and fantastic and unprecedented elaborations of ropes, corals, and vegetal motifs.

 



 Entrance of Convento do Cristo in Manueline style (Don Madill).

 

The period of this style did not last long (1490-1520), although its influence outlived King Manuel I, celebrating Portugal’s new maritime power. It manifested itself in architecture (churches, monasteries, palaces, and castles) and extended into other arts such as sculpture and painting. In its end period, it tended to become excessively exuberant, as in Tomar (the Convent of Christ in Tomar is a major Manueline monument, and its famous window is a well-known example of the style).

The dominant feature of the Manueline is the exuberance of forms and a strong naturalistic-symbolic interpretation of original, erudite, and traditional themes. The window, in both religious and secular buildings, is one of the architectural elements where this style is best seen. These motifs appear in buildings, pillories, tombs, and even artistic pieces, such as jewelry. The “stone speech” of these elements is a cross of Christian symbolism, alchemy, and popular tradition. The context can be both uplifting (as allegorical), Jocular, esoteric, or simply propagandistic of royal power.

Several elements appear regularly in these intricately carved stoneworks:

·         Elements used on ships: the armillary sphere (a navigational instrument and the personal emblem of Manuel I and also symbol of the cosmos), spheres, anchors, anchor chains, ropes and cables.

·         Symbols of Christianity such as the cross of the Order of Christ (former Templar knights), the military order that played a prominent role and helped finance the first voyages of discovery. The cross of this order decorated the sails of the Portuguese ships.

·         Elements from newly discovered lands (such as the tracery suggesting Islamic filigree work, influenced by buildings in India).

·         Elements from the sea, such as shells, pearls, coral, algae, barnacles, and strings of seaweed.

·         Botanical motifs such as laurel branches, ivy, oak leaves, acorns, poppy capsules, corncobs, thistles, artichokes, and pomegranates.

·         Various animals, including gargoyles, dragons, and animals performing human actions.

·         Putti (children).

·         Columns carved like twisted strands of rope.

·         Semicircular arches (instead of Gothic pointed arches) of doors and windows, sometimes consisting of three or more convex curves.

·         Multiple pillars.

·         Eight-sided capitals.

·         Lack of symmetry.

·         Conical pinnacles.

·         Bevelled crenellations.

·         Ornate portals with niches or canopies.

 

 

Santarém - Igreja de Marvila – main portal (commons.wikimedia.org).

 

Golegã, Portugal – Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Conceição – the original 14th-century Gothic church was later renovated in the Manueline style, including its beautiful main door and its bell tower.

 

 

Tomar, Portugal: Igreja de São João Baptista was begun by Prince Henry the Navigator in the 15th century and then reconstructed and expanded in the 16th century by King Manuel I; it is therefore in the Manueline style. The church, and in particular its façade and main entrance, is an important example of Manueline architecture, which some would call flamboyant Gothic (Don Madill).

 

 

 

Between Avelas de Caminho and Aguada de Baixo, Portugal - Quinta da Grimpa (Don Madill). The fine Manueline features of the quinta (manor house) have been beautifully restored.

 

 

 

Between Avelas de Caminho and Aguada de Baixo, Portugal - Quinta da Grimpa (Don Madill) (Cropped) – close-up of Manueline door.

 

 

 

16th-century pelourinho (pillory) of Azambuja, in the Manueline style (Don Madill).

 

PRIMARY SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manueline Manueline.

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estilo_manuelino Estilo Manuelino (in Portuguese). 

OTHER SOURCES:

https://www.britannica.com/art/Manueline Manueline Architectural Style (Encyclopædia Britannica).

https://www.visitportugal.com/en/node/73866 Discover the Manueline style.

http://www.algarvehistoryassociation.com/en/portuguese-culture/120-manueline-architecture-the-power-and-the-glory Manueline architecture, the power and the glory (Algarve History association).

http://www.golisbon.com/culture/architecture.html Portuguese Architecture.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Manueline_architecture Category:Manueline architecture - Wikimedia Commons.