Debris of greatness - research on the remains of 16th century Portuguese azulejo panels at Igreja da Graça in Lisbon

Abstract

In the interior of Igreja de São Roque (Saint Roch Church) in Lisbon, on both sides of the nave near the entrance, a close inspection of the tile linings promptly reveals a potpourri of azulejos hastily intermixed with the otherwise orderly panels bought from Seville in the late 16th century. Presumably this is, at least partially, a consequence of the 1755 earthquake that brought down a part of the façade of the church, certainly affecting the azulejo panels in the surrounding area. Some of these azulejos are obviously connected with the Seville panels but others are very different. In this paper, we present the results of a first study concerning those odd dispersed azulejos on the walls of the lower nave of São Roque and discuss their origin, significance and chronology.