Abstract:
Among the first known references to azulejos from the 16th century integrated in Portuguese architecture is the so-called panel of Nossa Senhora da Vida (“Our Lady of Life”), belonging to a chapel of the now demolished Igreja de Santo André, near the Convento da Graça. These azulejos were already labelled in the important work Santuário Mariano (1707), a collection of books by Fr. Agostinho de Santa Maria (1642-1728) who aimed to describe all the churches and chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Portugal and its overseas territories. This communication reviews its history and presents the first results of an instrumental study of the panel.
