Romanesque Sculpture in Portuguese Cathedrals: Models, Continuity and Adaptation

When king Afonso Henriques died in 1185 the only cathedral in Portugal to have been completed was Coimbra. Thereafter Braga Cathedral was finished by the end of the Twelfth century, and the project for Lisbon and Guarda continued into thirteenth century. Oporto cathedral was concluded towards the middle of the thirteen century while the building plan for Évora, despite being based on the Romanesque models of Coimbra ad Lisbon should be considered Gothic. As for Viseu the only material that survives is from a building of the first half of the twelfth century, and for Lamego no significant sculpture survived.
The following article concentrates on sculpture from a number of Portuguese monuments and museums, chosen because they are regionally diverse and make for an interesting analysis. Given their artistic importance, attention is focused on sculpture from the cathedral of Coimbra, Lisboa Oporto and Évora.