Aleijadinho

Aleijadinho (* 1738 in Vila Rica, today Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, † November 18, 1814 ) was the chief architect and sculptor of the Brazilian Baroque.

His work has been preserved in several colonial towns of Minas Gerais.

Life

Aleijadinho was born under the name Antônio Francisco Lisboa. His father was a Portuguese architect, his mother was a black slave. His nickname o Aleijadinho ( the cripple ) he got because he suffered since his youth in a leprosy -like, incurable disease that disintegrated his body slowly. As his fingers and legs were paralyzed, he was the sculptor tools bind his arms to - be able to work - in agony.

He devoted his whole life to the sculpture and created religious works of exceptional quality and considerable variety of forms; This style has become known as Barocco Mineiro. He was highly appreciated throughout Brazil, though he has never left the region around his hometown of Ouro Preto.

Works

His sculptures and reliefs from lava stone or wood, as well as his architectural work can be seen in Ouro Preto, Sabará, Mariana or Congonhas do Campo. In Congonhas do Campo, especially the elaborate, life-sized figures of the Stations of the Cross are worth seeing. In Ouro Preto the Igreja São Francisco de Assis is purely the work of Aleijadinho; the city of Ouro Preto has devoted Aleijadinho also a museum which Conceição de Antônio Dias da can be found next to the church Matriz de Nossa Senhora.

Under the name Black Gold there is a movie by Roland May, dedicated to the architecture of Ouro Preto and the life Aleijadinho.