Convento da Madre de Deus - Lisboa, Portugal
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 38° 43.456 W 009° 06.825
29S E 490112 N 4286185
The convent was founded in 1509 by Queen Leonor and was occupied by Discalced Franciscans from the first rule of St. Clare.
Waymark Code: WM17K0
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Date Posted: 02/12/2007
Views: 148
The convent was founded in 1509 by Queen Leonor and was occupied by Discalced Franciscans from the first rule of St. Clare.
The convent, which also belonged to the queen’s household, subsequently underwent magnificent architectural and luxurious decorative programmes. It owned an outstanding legacy of jewellery and works of art that was assembled over several centuries.
The ground floor of the Claustrim and the Queen Leonor Chapel (or Arabic Room) date from the foundation of the convent.
IN 1551, King João III orders the start of a construction programme supervised by royal architect Diogo de Torralva.
The building was extensively restructured. The nave in the church and the cloister, built in the “plain” style that is characteristic of Mannerist architecture in Portugal, date from this period.
In 1698 a decoration work on the nave in the church. Dutch painter Willem van der Kloet was commissioned to produce tile panels.
From 1746-1759 a major construction work is carried out during the reigns of King João V and King José, financed by the gold brought from Brazil. The sacristy was altered (1746/49), and major work was done in the church (Upper and Lower Choirs and the Chapel of St. Anthony). They were covered in gilded carvings, tiles, paintings, polychrome marbles and exotic woods, turning the convent into one of the most exuberantly Baroque buildings in Portugal.
Also from 1746-1750 a new sacristy was constructed in the church.
In 1834 the religious orders were suppressed in Portugal and in 1867 the building is acquired by the state and annexed to the Maria Pia Sanatorium, when Church property is sold off.
The convent was defenitly closed in 1871 after the death of the last nun.
In 1872 starts the construction work at the convent using a project by José Maria Nepomuceno to adapt the monastic buildings to a sanatorium and to install a small museum.
This work, continued by Liberato Telles, involved restoring the church façade in the neo-Manueline style, applying pattern tiles and historiated panels from other monasteries and palaces in Lisbon to the cloisters and staircases.
In 1916 the church and some other buildings are placed under the management of the National Museum of Ancient Art, and included as part of a tour of the Portuguese Baroque.
In 1958 The Madre de Deus convent is used as the site for the exhibition to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Queen Leonor, organised by João Miguel Santos Simões, the head of the ceramics section at the National Museum of Ancient Art, with a design project by Francisco Conceição e Silva.
This exhibition led to a major conservation and restoration programme for the buildings and rebuilding work on the other parts of the convent in preparation to house the Tile Museum.
In 1960 João Miguel dos Santos Simões is appointed to organise a permanent exhibition exclusively devoted to tiles at the Madre de Deus convent.
In 1971 the permanent tile exhibition is opened to the public as a section of the National Museum of Ancient Art. Located in the rooms around the Cloister of King João III, this established the birth of the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum).
In 1980 The Museu Nacional do Azulejo is created. The church, sacristy, chapterhouse, choir and cloisters of the Madre de Deus convent become its annex.
In 1983 the museum is expanded when the Casa Pia de Lisboa (charitable institution) ceded some of its premises. Major construction work took place to house one of the sections from the 17th Exhibition of Art, Science and Culture, organised by the Council of Europe.
Full name of the abbey/monastery/convent: Convento da Madre de Deus
Address:
Rua da Madre de Deus 4
1900-312
Lisboa, Lisboa Portugal
1900-312
Religious affiliation: Franciscanas Descalças da primeira regra de Santa Clara (Discalced Franciscans )
Date founded/constructed: 1509
Web Site: [Web Link]
Status of Use: Converted to Other Use
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Visit Instructions:
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