José Teófilo de Jesus ( Salvador, Bahia, 1758?-Salvador, Bahia, July 19, 1847) was a Brazilian painter and gilder. He is the most noted representative of the ''Escola Baiana'' or Bahian School of painting. His work was eclectic, characterized by the passage from the Baroque to the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

, with reference to Neoclassical traits. De Jesus was of ''

pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...

'', or mixed ethnic ancestry and lived into his nineties; little else is known of his life. His production was apparently vast, but many of his works are only identified by oral tradition. Although he is known as one of the great names of the Brazilian Baroque, and one of its final artists, details of his life and a full account of his works remain unclear.

Education and training

De Jesus was a freeman and ''

'', or Brazilian of mixed ethnic ancestry. He became an apprentice of José Joaquim da Rocha (1737 - 1807) in the mid-18th century. He assisted Da Rocha in painting and filling of secondary figures on ceiling and panels. De Jesus was part of a generation of painters who traveled to Portugal and Italy for training. He arrived in Lisbon in 1794 with the assistance of Da Rocha and attended the School of Fine Arts (''Escola de Belas Artes''). De Jesus was instructed by the painter

Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

(1729 - 1810) and had some contact with

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign visitors tra ...

(1708 - 1787), an Italian working at the Basílica da Estrela in Lisbon. The story of De Jesus's travel and study in Portugal was held as legend until the late 20th century; the archaeologist and historian

Carlos Ott Carlos Ott (born October 16, 1946, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan architect who resides in Canada and many other countries. He became famous when he won his first prize in 1983 (among 744 architects from all over the world) for the construction ...

(1908-1997) discovered correspondence dating to 1794 confirming De Jesus's work in Europe. De Jesus received his first commissions upon his return to Brazil in 1801. He completed four panels in the

Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in 1802 for the cost of 80$000. These works are now lost. He completed a painting of Our Lord of the Good End (''Nosso Senhor do Bonfim'') in 1803 for the Santa Casa and Our Lady of Mercy Church; this painting has also disappeared. His name disappears from the record for about ten years after these works, a period in which he likely worked in private homes and chapels. De Jesus inherited many of the clients of Da Rocha upon his death in 1807, and began his great works starting in 1815 at the

Church of the Third Order of Mount Carmel The Church of the Third Order of Mount Carmel ( pt, Igreja da Ordem Terceira do Carmo, also known as the ''Igreja da Ordem Terceira do Monte do Carmo'') is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is located adjacent t ...

He received 3:400$000 for his painting and gilding work at the church.

Works

José Teófilo de Jesus large-scale works include the ceilings of the naves of churches in Salvador, the Recôncavo region of the interior of the state of Bahia, and in the state of Sergipe. His works in Salvador include the ceilings of the naves of the

, Church of Our Lady of Barroquinha, and the church of Casa Pia and College of the Orphans of Saint Joachim in Salvador. De Jesus completed two major work in the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim: ''Cristo e a Adúltera'', completed approximately 183); and 34 small paintings along the corridor of the same church. They were completed between 1838 and 1839. De Jesus also painted the ceiling of the nave of the Parish Church of the Blessed Sacrament (''Matriz do Santíssimo Sacramento'') on

Itaparica Island Itaparica is an island located at the entrance of Todos os Santos Bay on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It is located about from the city of Salvador, Bahia and covers . There are two municipalities on the island ...

, a short distance from Salvador. His works in the Recôncavo include the ceiling of the nave of the Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis in

Cachoeira Cachoeira ( Portuguese, meaning waterfall) is an inland municipality of Bahia, Brazil, on the Paraguaçu River. The town exports sugar, cotton, and tobacco and is a thriving commercial and industrial centre. The municipality contains 56% of the ...

. His work in Sergipe include the ceiling and nave of Parish Church of Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd in the municipality of Divina Pastora. Numerous secular works of De Jesus, which probably date to the early 19th century, are preserved in Bahia Art Museum in Salvador.

Marriage and death

The extent of the private life of De Jesus is summarized in his marriage record at the Parish of Santana:

"José Teófilo de Jesus, ''pardo'', legitimate son of Antonio Feliciano Borges and Josefa de Santana, born in the city of Salvador, where he married Vicência Rosa de Jesus of Costa da Mina, ''preta forra'', of
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...
region (''Costa da Mina''), on February 20, 1808; the place of marriage was at the Church of Santana, the age of the painter was not declared. This was testified by José Joaquim Viana e Manoel Inácio."

He died in Salvador on July 19, 1847.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus, Jose Teofilo de 1847 deaths People from Salvador, Bahia Brazilian people of African descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Baroque painters 18th-century Brazilian people 19th-century Brazilian people 18th-century Brazilian painters 18th-century male artists 19th-century Brazilian painters 19th-century Brazilian male artists 1758 births