The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures Invites you to a Lecture by Juliano Gomes

ART VERSUS SCIENCE: SOCIAL DISPUTES ON THE CREATOR OF THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF KING JOSEPH I OF PORTUGAL (1775)

NOTE: This lecture will be given in Portuguese

Abstract: The unveiling ceremony of the Equestrian Statue of King Joseph I in 1775 symbolized both the apotheosis of the Prime Minister the Marquis of Pombal and the end of his regime due to the worsening convalescence of the monarch, the estrangement of the Prime Minister, and the eventual death of the king (1777). The fall of Pombal and the delicate political transition intensified a series of social conflicts, among which was the controversy surrounding the creation of the recently unveiled monument as an object of propaganda of Pombal’s regime.

This lecture centers on the dispute surrounding the social recognition of the originator of the royal monument. The issue is: did the culture of the old Portuguese regime recognize the preeminence of the art of sculpture above the casting of the statue itself? Who should receive the credit as the creator of the work, the sculpture Joaquim Machado de Castro or the caster Lieutenant Bartolomeu da Costa? The dispute between art and science was an important moment in understanding the status of court artist at the time.

Date: Wednesday February 14th, 4:00pm-5:00pm

Location: Boylston Hall 335 or on Zoom