Aleijadinho

Aleijadinho
Supposed posthumous portrait by Euclásio Ventura, 19th century, no contemporary depiction is known
Born	(1738-08-29)29 August 1738 Vila Rica (present day Ouro Preto), Minas Gerais, State of Brazil
Died	18 November 1814(1814-11-18) (aged 76) Vila Rica, Minas Gerais, State of Brazil
Known for	Sculpting, architecture
Movement	Baroque and Rococo
Signature

Antônio Francisco Lisboa (c. 29 August 1730 or 1738 – 18 November 1814), better known as Aleijadinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [aleiʒaˈdʒiɲu], lit. 'little cripple'), was a sculptor, carver and architect of Colonial Brazil, noted for his works on and in various churches of Brazil. With a style related to Baroque and Rococo, Aleijadinho is considered almost by consensus as the greatest exponent of colonial art in Brazil by Brazilian critics and, surpassing Brazilian borders, for some foreign scholars he is the greatest name of Baroque in the Americas.

Little is known with certainty about his biography, which remains shrouded in legend and controversy to this day, making the research work on his life very arduous. The main documentary source on Aleijadinho is a biographical note written only about forty years after his death. His trajectory is reconstructed mainly through the works he left behind, although even in this context his contribution is controversial, since the attribution of authorship for most of the more than four hundred creations that exist today associated with his name was made without any documentary evidence, based only on stylistic similarity with documented pieces.

All of his work, including carvings, architectural projects, reliefs and statuary, was carried out in Minas Gerais, especially in the cities of Ouro Preto, Sabará, São João del-Rei and Congonhas. The main monuments that contain his works are the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto and the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus of Matosinhos.