The azulejos in the Capela de São Roque in Lisbon

Abstract

The azulejos in the Capela de São Roque (Saint Roch Chapel) in the church of the same saint, in Lisbon, are justly considered one of the major majolica works made anywhere during the last quarter of the 16th century[1]. The earliest known surviving ensemble of Portuguese manufacture signed and dated, (“Francisco de Matos / 1584”) has long puzzled art historians mostly because their magnificence seems to have sprouted literally by spontaneous generation with no predecessors and few immediate successors. The set may be considered composed of four panels: two lower panels, facing each other, have the attributes of the saint painted on them. One of these, on the Gospel side of the chapel, depicts the dog with the loaf in its mouth (the “Panel of the Dog”) and bears the date and signature. This communication reviews José Queirós’ references to the panels made over a century ago, when a part of the lining was uncovered, and his information is compared with the objective proofs gained from instrumental results. The results also point to a definite technological ancestry that goes counter the notion that the work does not have antecedents.