Twelve Prophets of Aleijadinho

The ''Twelve Prophets'' are a set of soapstone sculptures completed between 1800 and 1805 by the artist Antônio Francisco Lisboa, commonly known as Aleijadinho. The sculptures are located in the Brazilian municipality of Congonhas, where they adorn the forecourt of the . These sculptures, along with the basilica, were given World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 1985 because of their extraordinary contribution to Baroque art.

The Twelve Prophets

Each sculpture in the series commemorates a prophet of the Hebrew Bible. The twelve sculptures do not correspond to the Twelve Minor Prophets, but include some of the Major Prophets and prophets whose works are part of the Old Testament deuterocanon. Each figure holds a scroll with a text, in Latin, from their biblical writings.

''Amazing spirit and power emanates from the heroic figures of the twelve prophets. ...Highly theatrical, the figures show individuality and inner greatness, held fast by the massiveness of their material - stone.''

It is likely that Aleijadinho himself, in his 70s when these works were completed, only carved the top half of the figures, the lower portions being executed by other carvers of his workshop. During this time in his life Aleijadinho, who suffered a debilitating disease believed to be leprosy, did all his carving behind screens in this workshop, "his chisel and mallet strapped to the stumps of his deformed hands."

It has been noted that two of the statues, Joel and Jonah, seem to have had their positions reversed. " e direction of the gaze of these two figures appears to out of harmony with the arrangement of the others." Also, if the positions of these two statues were reversed, then all of the figures would be placed in chronological order.

Isaiah

A prophet of the Old Testament, Isaiah, opens the series at the staircase entrance on the left side of the ''Santuário''. This sculpture has features characteristic of a person of advanced age, including a full beard and thick hair. He wears a short tunic, which covers his lower legs and boots sidewalks, and over which in draped a large mantle. He holds a parchment scroll from his left hand, while the right points to the text inscribed upon it.

Aleijadinho's sculptures present strong evidence of anatomical errors, including a disproportion between the upper and lower body, narrow shoulders, and rigidly short arms. This may result from the figure being completed by one of the assistants in his studio. The expression on the face of Isaiah is characteristic of the genius of Aleijadinho. The expression presents that of a truly enlightened visage, thus becoming one of the most important pieces of the whole architectural complex.

Jeremiah

To the right of Isaiah and also occupying a prominent position at the entrance of the staircase, is the prophet Jeremiah, the second author of a prophetic book in the order of the Christian canon.

The physical form of the sculpture is that of a middle-aged man with long whiskers on the sides of his mouth and a short beard of crisped rolls, in the Byzantine style. He wears short tunic, leaving the left leg revealed, which is draped over the right shoulder to fall downwards to the top of the feet. He secures firmly a parchment with his right hand and holds in his left a pen. Capping the head is a magnificent turban, edged with twisted flaps passing beneath the brim. Like the statue of Isaiah, Jeremiah is slightly smaller than the remaining statues. From an anatomical point of view, this statue also has deformities. However, despite the noticeable defects, there is intervention of Aleijadinho in the execution of the head, where, no doubt, is concentrated all the real power of the image.

Baruch

Although he is not counted among the prophets of the Hebrew Tanakh