Appendix B. Azulejos

The azulejo (pronounced ˌah thəˈlāˌhō in Spanish or ah zəˈlāˌzhō in Portuguese) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. Azulejos are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, restaurants, bars and even railway or subway stations. They not only have an ornamental function but also helped control the temperature in buildings. They still constitute a major aspect of Portuguese architecture, as they are applied on walls, floors, and even ceilings. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Portuguese history; however, some also show scenes from everyday life. Some merely serve as street signs, nameplates, or house numbers.

Panel of glazed azulejo tiles by Jorge Colaço (circa 1922) depicting an episode from the battle of Aljubarrota (1385) between the Portuguese and Castilian armies; a piece of public art in Lisbon, Portugal (en.wikipedia.org).

Santarém, Portugal: blue-and-white tile (azulejo) panel with scene of Dom Afonso Henriques (center) and other Christian knights battling Moors in Reconquista (Reconquest) in 1147, on bench near statue of D. Afonso Henriques (Don Madill).

Although some sources, including dictionaries, say the term azulejo is a derivative if the Spanish azul, meaning blue (the dominant colors in azulejos are blue, yellow, green, and white), the Portuguese (and Spanish) term azulejo comes from the Arabic az-zulayj or al zellige (زليج or الزليج) pronounced ah-zoo-lay-zhō or al-zoo-lay-cha and meaning “polished stone.” The Arabic term was for terra cotta tilework covered with enamel in the form of ships set into plaster. This form of Islamic art is one of the main characteristics of Moroccan architecture; it consists of geometrically patterned mosaics, used to ornament walls, ceilings, fountains, floors, pools, and tables. The art of zellige flourished in the Hispano-Moorish period (Azulejo) of the Maghreb region in northwest Africa. The Moors brought this art form to the Iberian Peninsula when they invaded and occupied it from the 8th to 12th centuries. When Christian kings and their armies eventually forced the Moors from southern Europe, many of the craftsmen stayed behind and adapted their craft to appeal to their new Christian masters, customers, and benefactors. Their influence in early Portuguese azulejos was actually introduced from Spain, long after the Christian Reconquest. Although they are not a Portuguese invention, they have been used more imaginatively and consistently in Portugal than in any other country.

Zellige terra cotta tiles decorating a fountain with elaborate Islamic geometric patterns, Place [Square] El-Hedine, in Meknes, Morocco (en.wikipedia.org).

The first applications of decorative azulejos were in Andalusia (Southern Spain) in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Spanish city of Seville became the major center of the Hispano-Moresque tile industry, although Valéncia, Málaga, and Toledo were also principal producers. The earliest azulejos in the 13th century were panels of tile-mosaic. Tiles were glazed in a single color (monochrome), cut into geometric shapes, and assembled to form geometric patterns. These techniques were introduced into Portugal by King Manuel I after visits to Seville in 1498 and 1503. The Portuguese adopted the Moorish tradition of covering walls completely with azulejos.

After the Gothic period, most large buildings had extensive areas of flat plaster on their interior walls, which needed some form of decoration. These empty architectural spaces produced the art of the fresco in Italy and, in Portugal, the art of the azulejo.

In the late 15th and 16th century, the development of ceramic art in Italy led to the use of the majolica technique to paint directly onto tiles. This made it possible to expand compositions to include a variety of figurative themes, historical stories, and decorations. Under the influence of Italian artists who moved to Seville, most azulejos were polychrome (two or more colors); a  variety of colors were used, including blue, light yellow, dark yellow, green, brown, white, black, and purple. Azulejo tiles, now painted by artists, were painted on tiles, as on a wood panel or a canvas. The painted tiles were assembled into panels depicting allegorical or mythological scenes, scenes from the lives of saints or the Bible, or hunting scenes. Until the mid-16th century, Portugal relied in foreign imports, but then Portuguese masters arose, drawing their inspiration from Renaissance and Mannerist art.

In the late 16th century, checkered azulejos were used as decoration for large surfaces, such as in churches and monasteries. They were composed of plain colored tiles, alternated in such a way as to create decorative patterns on the walls. For example, diagonally placed plain white tiles were surrounded by blue square ones and narrow border tiles.

Checkered azulejos on the façade of the Igreja Matriz de Cambra, Vouzela, Portugal (en.wikipedia.org).

In the 17th century, these plain white tiles were replaced by polychrome ones, often giving a complex framework, such as in the Igreja de Santa María de Marvila in Santarém with one of the most outstanding tile-based interior decorations in Portugal. Complexes of tiles began to be interlaced with Mannerist drawings of flowers and inserted votives, usually a scene from the life of Christ or a saint. These carpet compositions (azulejo de tapete), elaborately frames with friezes and borders, were produced in great numbers in Portugal. Also typical of Portugal is the use of azulejos for the decoration of the antependium (front of an altar), imitating previous altar cloths; the golden fringes of the altar cloth were imitated by yellow motifs on painted border tiles.

Carpet-style decoration - Museu da Rainha D. Leonor in Beja, Portugal (en.wikipedia.org).

Antependium decorated with azulejos - Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça in Sagres, Portugal (en.wikipedia.org).

In the second half of the 17th century, blue-and-white tiles from Delft in the Netherlands were introduced into Portugal. The Dutch created large tile panels with historical scenes for their rich Portuguese clients. The Dutch tiles were conceived by qualified painters, and both their technical superiority and blue paintings (inspired by Chinese porcelain) were to the taste of the Portuguese market.

Azulejos by Dutch master Willem van der Kloet (1708) in the transept of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré; Nazaré, Portugal (en.wikipedia.org).

However, when King Pedro II stopped all imports of azulejos between 1687 and 1698, Portuguese workshops took over the production. The quality of Dutch tiles had forced Portuguese producers to react and employ painters with academic training. Soon, large, home-made blue-and-white figurative tiles, designed by academically trained Portuguese artists, became the dominant fashion. The late 17th and early 18th centuries became the “Golden Age of the Azulejo” or the “Cycle of Masters,” and by the 18th century no other European country was producing as many tiles as Portugal. Mass production was started not just because of a greater internal demand, but also because large orders from the Portuguese colony of Brazil. Churches, monasteries, palaces, and even houses were covered inside and out with azulejos, many with exuberant Baroque elements. Since this period of “Great Production” coincided with the reign of King João V (1706-1750), the style of this period is called Joanine. The continuation of the “Cycle of Masters” could still be seen in the quality of the work of a number of later painters. Alongside the religious themes ordered by the Church, the tiles used to decorate palaces began to employ more bucolic, mythological, hunting, and warlike scenes, as well as those taken from daily life at court.

Santarém, Portugal: Museu Diocesano – Queda de Jesus a caminho do Calvário (Fall of Jesus on the way to Calvary); attributable to Policarpo de Oliveira Bernardes (1695-1778), panel of azulejos painted in blue and white. 18th century (with subsequent alterations) (Don Madill).

Condeixa-a-Nova, Portugal: azulejo panel of Christ falling with cross (1782), on side of a residence on street (Don Madill).

The celebrations of the Stations of the Cross are the largest religious festival held annually in Condeixa-a-Nova. One of the 14 stations is marked by this azulejo panel, dated 1782, with a cross above it. It is on a private home, as were other stations, many of which have since disappeared. There are seven of these crosses (without azulejos) in different streets of the town.

In the mid-18th century, the tastes of Portuguese society were influenced by the Rococo. The preference for organic forms (such as the irregular shell) can be seen in delicate compositions in which the decorative effects were first achieved by the use of two contrasting shades of blue and then by various colors. Most of the figurative panels of the period display gallant and bucolic scenes taken from Rococo engravings from central Europe.

The reconstruction of Lisbon after the Great Earthquake of 1755 gave rise to a more utilitarian role for decoration with azulejos. This bare and functional style would become known as the Pombaline style, named after the Marquis de Pombal, who was put in charge of the rebuilding. Small devotional azulejo panels also began to appear on buildings as protection against future disasters.

In the first half of the 19th century, there was a stagnation in the production of decorative tiles, owing first to the incursion of the Napoleonic army and later to social and economic changes. The, around 1840, an industrialized production began in Porto and then in Lisbon. While these industrialized methods produced simple, stylized designs, the art of hand-painting tiles was not dead. These hand-painted panels are fine examples of the eclectic Romantic culture of the late 19th century.

In the second half of the 19th century, the rise of a bourgeoisie linked to trade and industry led to a new use for azulejos. Using either industrial or semi-industrial techniques made production the major Portuguese factories in Lisbon and Porto more rapid and precise; their color and variations of light turned façades composed of standard-pattern tiles with borders delimiting doors and windows into essential elements of Portuguese urban architecture. The less expensive standard-pattern tiles covered thousands of façades, transforming azulejo art from interior decoration to an almost ostentatious external application.

Aguada de Baixo, Portugal: Igreja Matriz façade and tower covered with patterned azulejos (Don Madill).

Azambuja, Portugal: business/residential building covered with patterned azulejos (Don Madill).

Azambuja, Portugal: residential building covered with patterned azulejos (Don Madill).

Azambuja, Portugal: business/residential building covered with patterned azulejos, and nameplate of owner above door (Don Madill).

At the start of the 20th century, Art Nouveau azulejos started to appear, especially around the 1930s.

Art Nouveau azulejos on a shop in Porto (en.wikipedia.org).

In the first half of the 1930s, a “campanha azulejar” (tile campaign) swept Portugal, covering the walls of markets, railway stations, etc. with tile panels.

Santarém, Portugal: azulejo panel in Mercado Municipal (City Market) (Mary-Theresa Madill).

Ansião, Portugal: azulejo panel from 1937 of Rainha Santa Isabel (Queen St. Isabel) giving alms to an old man, on the side of a business (Don Madill).

The town takes its name from this old man (ansião in Portuguese).

There are many important and impressive examples of the use of azulejos in the city of Porto.

The monumental decorations in the vestibule of the Estação São Bento railway station in Porto, consisting of 20,000 azulejos, show in historical themes the narrative style of the romantic “picture postcard.” The station, which opened in 1916, is known for its large, magnificent azulejo panels that depict scenes from the history of Portugal. The tiles date from 1905-1916 and are the work of Jorge Colaço, the most important azulejo painter of the time. The panels depict scenes from Porto everyday life, landscapes, ethnographic scenes, and also historical events like the Battle of Arcos de Valdevez (1140), the meeting of the knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of León (12th century), the arrival of King João I and Philippa of Lancaster in at the Cathedral of Porto (1387), and the Conquest of Ceuta in Morocco by Prince henry the Navigator (1415). The historical panels are the most notable.

Porto – Estação São Bento – right end of vestibule (en.wikipedia.org).

Porto - São Bento station – left end of vestibule (Don Madill).

  

Porto - São Bento station – large azulejo panel over doors depicts Battle of Arcos de Valdevez; medium-size azulejo panel below it depicts the meeting of the knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of León (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station –  Battle of Arcos de Valdevez (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station – medium-size azulejo panel, below the Battle of Arcos de Valdevez, depicts the meeting of the knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of León (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station – large azulejo panel over doors depicts the arrival of King João I in Porto, to celebrate his marriage to Philippa of Lancaster, with Cathedral in background; medium-size azulejo panel below it depicts Prince Henry the Navigator in the conquest of Ceuta (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station – large azulejo panel over doors depicts the arrival of King João I in Porto, to celebrate his marriage to Philippa of Lancaster, with Cathedral in background (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station – medium-size azulejo panel depicts Prince Henry the Navigator in the conquest of Ceuta (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station top panel seems to depict a bucolic scene of the 19th century with women harvesting fruit [grapes and figs?]; lower panel shows boats [on Tejo River], one ready to load a barrel (or Port wine) from an ox cart in the river (Don Madill).

  

Porto - São Bento station – top panel depicts [wheat?] harvest; lower panel shows a mill and ox cart in river (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station – four panels depicting everyday life in Porto, including folk dancing (Don Madill).

Porto - São Bento station – top panel in this group depicts a religious procession (Don Madill).

The Cathedral in Porto also has a large number of azulejo panels in its cloister. The elegant Gothic cloister, built between the 14th and 15th centuries during the reign of King João I, who married the English Princess Philippa of Lancaster in the Porto Cathedral in 1387, are more outstanding than the church itself. The walls of the cloister are covered with seven large panels of magnificent blue and white ties from the 18th century, by Valentim de Almeida (between 1729 and 1731), with scenes representing passages from the Biblical “Song of Songs” (Song of Solomon) accompanied by subtitles in Latin, as a reference to the mystical dialogue between God and the Virgin (patroness of the Cathedral). The seven panels represent the Emergence of Perfection Meeting of the Ideal, the Happiness of the Meeting, the Quietude of Possession, the Way of Victory, the Final Prize, and Apotheosis. These scenes are framed by architectural elements embellished with winding vines, seashells, putti and angels, canopies with lambrequins, and curtains. The terrace above the cloister (upper cloister promenade) has two walls decorated with huge tile panels by António Vidal; some of these panels depict scenes from Ovid’s “Metamorphosis” and the life of the Virgin Mary.

Porto – Cathedral cloister (commons.wikimedia.org from António Amen).

Porto - Cathedral cloister - panel (Don Madill).

Porto - Cathedral cloister - panel (Don Madill).

Porto - Cathedral cloister - panel (Don Madill).

  

Porto - Cathedral cloister -panel (Don Madill).

Porto - Cathedral cloister - panel (Don Madill).

Porto - Cathedral cloister –terrace above cloister (Don Madill).

Porto - Cathedral cloister – panels on left side of terrace above cloister (Don Madill).

Porto - Cathedral cloister – panels of Ovid’s Metamorphosis on right side of terrace above cloister (Don Madill).

Other churches in Porto have facades adorned with azulejos.

The Igreja do Santo Ildefonso, built in two stages, the first 1709-1730 and the second 1730-1739. The hilltop Baroque church is distinguished by its lovely blue and white tile panels that cover the façade. Approximately 11,000 azulejo tiles, created by the artist Jorge Colaço and emplaced in 1932,depict scenes from the life of St. Ildefonso and figurative imagery from the Gospels.

Porto - Igreja do Santo Ildefonso - façade and towers (Don Madill).

  

Porto – Igreja do Santo Ildefonso - azulejo panel of Jesus multiplying the loaves (commons.wikimedia.org).

   

Porto – Igreja do Santo Ildefonso – azulejo panel of St. Ildefonso before Mary (commons.wikimedia.org).

The Igreja dos Congregados (aka Igreja de Santo António dos Congregados) was built between 1680 and 1703, with a façade in the Baroque style. However, the windows of the façade are now outlined with modern azulejo tiles depicting scenes from the life of St. Anthony, by the artist Jorge Colaço, dating back to 1920.



Porto Igreja dos Congregados – façade (Don Madill).

  

Porto – Igreja dos Congregados (comons.wikimedia.org).

Porto – Igreja dos Congregados (comons.wikimedia.org).

  

Porto – Igreja dos Congregados (comons.wikimedia.org).

The Igreja do Carmo, built in the 18th century (between 1750 and 1768), does not have azulejos on its façade, but an extraordinary side wall is completely covered in blue and white tile panels. These panels, from 1912, were designed by Silvestro Silvestri and painted by Carlos Branco from the nearby town of Gaia and show the cult of Our Lady and foundation of the Order of Carmelites.

Porto - Igreja do Carmo – façade and azulejo panels on side wall (Don Madill).

Porto - Igreja do Carmo – largest azulejo panel on outside wall (Don Madill).

The Capela das Almas (Chapel of the Souls, aka Capela de Santa Catarina), dating from the early 18th century, is situated in the city of Porto, on the corner of the Rua de Santa Catarina. In the early 20th century (1929), it was given a remarkable azulejo tiled decoration all over its exterior, with 15,947 tiles that cover about 360 square meters of wall. The tiles, painted in the fashion of the 18th century, are by painter and ceramist Eduardo Leite and were executed by the Viúva Lamego ceramics factory in Lisbon. The panels depict “The Death of St. Francis of Assisi,” “The Saint in the Presence of Pope Honorius III,” and “The Martyrdom of St. Catherine” (mingling the lives of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Catherine of Alexandria).

Porto – Capela das Almas (Capela de Santa Catarina) – tower, façade, and side with azulejos (commons.wikimedia.org).

  

Porto – Capela das Almas (Capela de Santa Catarina) – side wall with azulejos panels (commons.wikimedia.org).

  

Porto - Capela das Almas (Capela de Santa Catarina) - “The Saint [Francis] in the Presence of Pope Honorius III” at left; panel at right seems to be scene of St. Francis’ vision of Christ while he prayed in a grotto near Assisi (commons.wikimedia.org).

  

Capela das Almas (Capela de Santa Catarina) – panel of “The Death of St. Francis” (pt.wikipedia.org).

 PRIMARY SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulejo Azulejo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zellige Zellige.
http://www.golisbon.com/culture/azulejos.html Azulejos: The Art of Portuguese Ceramic Tiles.
http://www.museudoazulejo.pt/Data/Documents/Cronologia%20do%20Azulejo%20em%20Portugal.pdf Cronologia do Azulejo em Portugal.
http://cvc.instituto-camoes.pt/azulejos/eng/ The Art of Azulejo in Portugal.
http://www.azulejos.fr/index_en.html History of Azulejos.