Name of Monument:

National Palace of Mafra

Also known as:

Palácio e Convento de Mafra

Location:

Mafra, Lisbon, Portugal

Date:

22 October 1730

Artists:

Architect: Johan Friedrich Ludwig (João Frederico Ludovice, active 1718–1746); interior designers/architect (of library): Manuel Caetano de Sousa (1738–1802); sculptors: Carlo Monaldi (1683–1760), Giovanni Battista Maini (1690–1752), Fillippo della Valle (1698–1768), Alessandro Giusti (1715–1799); organ makers: Peres Fontanes, Machado Cerveira (both active between 1792–1807); carillons: Nicholas Levache, Willem Witlockx (both active 1730); painters: Francisco Vieira de Matos (known as Vieira Lusitano 1699–1783), Agostino Masucci (1690–1768), Francesco Trevisani (1656–1746); mural painters: Cyrilo Volkmar Machado (1748–1823), Domingos Sequeira (1768–1837), Bernardo de Oliveira Góis (active 18th century)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Secular and religious architecture: Palace, Convent with Hospital and Basilica

Patron(s):

King D. João V

History:

Taking advantage of the prosperity granted by the Brazilian gold afflux, King D. João V ordered construction of the Palace in the hope that this initiative would bless him with the birth of a male heir to the throne. The first stone was set in 1717, under the direction of the architect Johan Frederich Ludwig.
The so-called “Real Obra” was the first Portuguese school of Fine Arts, particularly for architects, stonemasons, carpenters, cabinetmakers and painters; in 1753, King D. João V’s son, King D. José I, implemented a School of Sculpture there under the direction of the Italian Alessandro Giusti.
Mafra was King D. João V’s favourite palace, and at the end of the 18th century, he commissioned the mural paintings and a new ensemble of six organs for the Basilica. Although the palace was never a permanent royal residence, it was frequently visited by royalty for hunting in the extensive park or to attend religious festivities.
In the aftermath of the monarchy’s last days, it was from Mafra that the last Portuguese sovereign, D. Manuel II, left to go into exile in 1910.

Description:

Symmetrically organised, the building evolves from a central axis: the basilica flanked by the palace façades, the king's apartments at the north end, and the queen's on the south. At the back there is a convent, originally intended for the Order of St. Francis, which has at its nucleus a uniquely well-preserved 18th-century hospital.
Altogether the palace occupies 38,000 m2 and has 1,200 rooms and 4,700 doors and windows. The high points of the Basilica are the ensemble of statues made by Italian masters, part of The Royal Commission that also comprises an important collection of 18th-century Italian and Portuguese paintings, two Flemish-made carillons with 92 bells, retables from the Mafra school of sculpture, and a set of six organs.

The National Palace of Mafra is Portugal’s most important Baroque building, comprising a royal palace, a basilica and a Franciscan convent within which is a well-preserved 18th-century hospital. The palace houses the remarkable Royal Commission, a collection of Italian sculptures and Portuguese and Italian paintings, two carillons and six historical organs as well as precious gold artefacts and church ornaments.

How Monument was dated:

Official royal documents

Special features

St. Vincent and St. Sebastian

Basilica, Galilee

1731

Carlo Monaldi (1683-1760)

Depicting the Martyrs St. Sebastian and St. Vincent, these sculptures represent just two pieces from The Royal Commission, which includes among other precious items 56 Italian sculptures, representing the most important collection of Italian Baroque sculpture outside Italy. The two sculptures illustrated here are made from marble; each one is 3.58-meters tall.

Carillons

North and South Towers

c.1730

Nicholas Levache, Willem Witlockx (both active 1730)

A Flanders-made ensemble of two carillons with 92 bells commissioned by King D. João V, representing the world’s largest historical set. The north tower carillon has 45 bells and the south tower carillon 47 bells. The bells are made of bronze and their total weight is 217 tons. According to tradition, when the king was told the astronomic price of only one carillon, he answered "I didn't expect it to be that cheap, I'll have two."

Cupola

Basilica

18th century

Johan Friedrich Ludwig (active 1718–1746)

This was the first cupola built in Portugal, similar to that of St. Peter’s in Rome. Sixty-two metres high, it is marble outside and with polychrome marble inside. The cupola has an eight-sided form and eight windows, above which are the sculpted litanies of the Virgin Mary. Forty-one men worked simultaneously on the decoration “very well and at ease”, according to a testimony in contemporary sources.

Benediction Room

In the middle of the Royal Palace

18th century

Johan Friedrich Ludwig (active 1718–1746)

The Benediction Room at the centre of the royal palace appears to be part of the Basilica as it has the same polychrome marble decoration.
It symbolises the divine origins of Absolute Kingship, to whose authority even the Church submitted. From this room over the Basilica, the Royal Family attended mass, and from the veranda (on the opposite side) opening onto the square, King João V blessed his subjects.

Library

East Wing

Third quarter of the 18th century

Manuel Caetano de Sousa (1738–1802)

A significant Enlightenment Library with around 36,000 volumes amassed through royal commission. It has a cruciform layout with a multi-coloured limestone floor and Rocaille shelves.
Some rare works furnish its shelves to this day: the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) or the Theatrvm Orbis Terrarvm by Ortelius (1595) and a nucleus of scores from musicians such as João de Sousa Carvalho or Marcos Portugal, composed expressly to be played on the Basilica's six organs.

Selected bibliography:

Ivo, J., O Monumento de Mafra, Lisbon, 1906.
Frei João de S. José do Prado, Monumento sacro da fábrica e solemnissima sagração da Santa Basílica do Real Convento […] de Mafra […] Lisbona, 1751.
Frei João de Santana, REAL EDIFÍCIO MAFRENSE visto por fora, e por dentro [...], Feita no ano de 1828.
Gomes, J. da Conceição, O Monumento de Mafra, Lisbon, 1866.
Ivo, J., O Monumento de Mafra, Lisbon, 1906.
Ayres de Carvalho, A Escultura de Mafra, Mafra, 1950.
Pimentel, A. F., Arquitectura e Poder, O Real Edifício de Mafra, Coimbra, 1992.
Pereira, J. F., Arquitectura e escultura de Mafra, a retórica da perfeição, Lisbon, 1994.
Serrão, V., História da Arte em Portugal, O Barroco, Lisbon, 2003.

Additional Copyright Information:

Copyright images "DDF/IMC,IP": Divisão de Documentação Fotográfica /Instituto dos Museus e Conservação,IP.

Citation of this web page:

Margarida  Montenegro, Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira  "National Palace of Mafra" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;pt;Mon11;17;en

Prepared by: Margarida MontenegroMargarida Montenegro

SURNAME: Montenegro
NAME: Margarida

Affiliation: Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema

Title: Teacher, Researcher and Expert

CV:
Margarida Montenegro is a History graduate who has studied History, Museology and Arts Management at post-graduate level. She has lectured at Ricardo Espírito Santo College of Decorative Arts, at Lisbon Catholic University, and at Lisbon College of Drama and Film. From 1991 to 2008 Margarida was the Director of the National Palace of Mafra. She is currently completing her MA in Heritage and Restoration. Her main areas of expertise are the history of interiors and furniture.
, Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira

SURNAME: Yglesias de Oliveira
NAME: Isabel

AFFILIATION: Mafra National Palace

TITLE: Curator

CV:
Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira graduated in History, carried out post-graduate studies in Museology and Heritage, and has an MA in Brazilian History and Culture. Since 1993 she has been Curator at Mafra National Palace where she has co-organised many exhibitions. Her research interests, conferences and publications are focused on 18th-century church ornaments and Portuguese/Brazilian history.
Translation by: Cristina CorreiaCristina Correia

SURNAME: Correia
NAME: Cristina

AFFILIATION: Eça de Queirós Public High School, Lisbon and MWNF

TITLE: Senior Teacher, Local Co-ordinator and Vice-President of MWNF

CV:
Cristina Correia is a History graduate and, since 1985, a Senior Teacher of History at the Eça de Queirós Public High School, Lisbon where she also lectures in Portuguese Language and Culture for non-native speakers. From 1987 to 1998 she was involved with youth affairs, primary prevention and the Camões Institute. She is Vice-President and Local Co-ordinator (Portugal) for MWNF., Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira

SURNAME: Yglesias de Oliveira
NAME: Isabel

AFFILIATION: Mafra National Palace

TITLE: Curator

CV:
Isabel Yglesias de Oliveira graduated in History, carried out post-graduate studies in Museology and Heritage, and has an MA in Brazilian History and Culture. Since 1993 she has been Curator at Mafra National Palace where she has co-organised many exhibitions. Her research interests, conferences and publications are focused on 18th-century church ornaments and Portuguese/Brazilian history.
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: PT 17