Biography
Antônio Francisco Lisboa, Aleijadinho (Vila Rica [today Ouro Preto], Minas Gerais, 1730 - idem, 1814). Sculptor, architect and woodcarver. Considered the most important Brazilian artist of the Colonial period. Natural son of the Portuguese architect and master of works, Manuel Francisco Lisboa and one of his slaves, he received the first notions of drawing, architecture and sculpture from his father. It is likely that he received instruction from the Portuguese draughtsman and medal designer, João Gomes Batista (n.d. - 1788), who after working in Rio de Janeiro, moved to Vila Rica, now Ouro Preto, occupying the post of medal engraver of the Municipal Mint between 1751 and 1784. It is also possible that Aleijadinho was guided by two carvers, Francisco Xavier de Brito (n.d. - 1751), who was responsible for the carving in the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pilar de Ouro Preto [Church of Our Lady of the Pillar of Ouro Preto], who appointed Aleijadinho's father to complete the work due to illness, and José Coelho de Noronha (n.d. - n.d.), who in 1758 worked on the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso [Head Church of Our Lady of Bom Successo], in Caeté, Minas Gerais. Two years later, in the same city, Aleijadinho executed a sculpture of Nossa Senhora do Carmo [Our Lady of Carmel] and took charge of executing the side altars. Before reaching the age of 50, he was afflicted by a degenerative disease that deformed and atrophied his body, triggering the progressive loss of movement of his fingers and toes. He began to work with the instruments strapped to his hands by his slaves, who carried him to his places of work. There are many uncertainties about his life. The first biography of the artist was written in 1858, 44 years after his death, by Rodrigo José Ferreira Bretas, based on archived documents and testimonies. Of note within the body of his work are the designs for the churches of São Francisco de Assis [St. Francis of Assisi], in Ouro Preto and São João del Rei, Minas Gerais; the 66 images in cedar wood of the Stations of the Cross and the 12 prophets in soapstone, for the Santuário do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matozinhos [Sanctuary of Lord Good Jesus of Matozinhos], in Congonhas do Campo, Minas Gerais.