Dwarfs and Music in Portuguese Art in the 18th Century: a Contribute to Musical Iconography Studies

The phenomenon of dwarfism has been, throughout the ages, observed and studied mainly in medical and genetic terms. However it has also been present in literature and works of art. Portuguese eighteenth-century literary sources concerning dwarfs are very rare. The same was thought about art. But dwarfs were there all time, depicted in several guises, and mistaken at times for children. It is the aim of this paper to present rare, unknown and unpublished representations of dwarfs in a musical context. These depictions are related to public and private spheres. It is possible to observe dwarfs performing in theatrical milieu or amusing their masters with dance and music in a private garden.