Enlightening St. Ignatius through the flame of arts: A singular artistic and iconographic programme in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Évora

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an unpublished study about the St. Ignatius of Loyola chapel in the Jesuit Church of the Holy Spirit in Évora, Portugal. Built in the sixteenth century, was commissioned by a member of the Society of Jesus and adviser of the Queen of England, D. Catarina de Braganza (1638-1705), during her reign. He authored writings of theological scope and owned a vast library, acquired in London and transported to Évora, when he returned to Portugal, with the Queen. The singularity of this chapel relays on the exquisite combination of gilded and coloured woodcarving with marble inlay, displaying an iconographic program alluding to the Ignatian spirituality inspired by the emblems of the Mundus symbolicus by Filippo Piccinelli (1604-1678). The whole decorative program reflects the domain of the Catholic Reformation visual culture and a sharpening perception of the role of images in the construction of an apologetic and evangelizing discourse by the Portuguese Jesuits and its commissioner.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEloquent Images. Evangelisation, Conversion and Propaganda in the Global World of the Early Modern Period
EditorsGiuseppe Capriotti, Pierre-Antoine Fabre, Sabina Pavone
Place of PublicationLeuven
PublisherLeuven University Press
Pages181-196
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic) 978 94 6166 448 8
ISBN (Print)978 94 6270 327 8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2022

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