The prodigious commission
COMMISSIONER
António Filipe Pimentel e Teresa Leonor ValeORGANISATION
Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) and Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (MNAA)The exhibition “The Prodigious Commission. From Patriarchal to the Royal Chapel of St. John the Baptist” is organised in two major poles: the first, at the MNAA, has as its theme the destroyed Patriarchal Basilica and its artistic heritage, as well as its symbolic and political significance, also encompassing the royal project of the Mafra Palace-Convent, closely articulated with the projects developed by King John V (r. 1706-1750) for the Patriarchal, as well as the dialogue established between Lisbon and Rome in the context of the commissioning of the Chapel, reflected in the evolution of the architectural programme itself in its conceptual phase.
The second is set in the Church of São Roque itself, where the chapel stands, as well as in the Museum of São Roque, which is dedicated to the respective treasure. In this one, the iconographic programme and liturgical aspects related to the temple and its extraordinary set of implements were evoked, along with the restoration process of the Chapel itself, culminating with the repercussion of the Prodigious Commission on the subsequent evolution of Portuguese art, particularly in the field of goldsmithery.
