André Gonçalves (1685 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

– 1754 in Lisbon), was a Portuguese painter. He was one of the first artists in his country to adopt French and Italian styles of painting, as opposed to the prevailing Spanish styles. Some sources give his years of birth and death as 1692 and 1762, respectively.

Biography

At sixteen, he began an apprenticeship in the workshops of , where he studied until 1704. In 1711, he joined the local

Guild of Saint Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was iden ...

and remained a member for life. By this time, he had created his first major work depicting a scene from the life of

Saint Amaro According to Catholic tradition, Saint Amaro or Amarus the Pilgrim (, , ) was an abbot and sailor who it was claimed sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to an earthly paradise. There are two historical figures who may have provided the basis for thi ...

for the chest in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

of the Saint's namesake chapel in Lisbon. He began to establish his personal style in the 1720s with work done at the convent of "Our Lady of the Conception of Cardais". At this time, he also appears to have painted the screens in the chapel of "Our Lady Jesuit Church" in

Horta Horta may refer to: People * Horta (surname), a list of people Places * Horta, Africa, an ancient city and former bishopric in Africa Proconsularis, now in Tunisia and a Latin Catholic titular see * Horta, Azores, Portugal, a municipality a ...

Faial Island Faial Island (), also known as Fayal Island, is a Portugal, Portuguese island of the Central Group or ''Grupo Central'' of the Azores, in the Atlantic Ocean. The Capelinhos volcano is the westernmost point of the island and is considered the we ...

, representing the

Death of the Virgin The Death of the Virgin Mary is a common subject in Western Christian art, and is the equivalent of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Eastern Orthodox art. This depiction became less common as the doctrine of the Assumption gained support in t ...

and the Apostles at Mary's tomb. In the early 1730s, he participated in decorating the Mafra Convent at the

Mafra National Palace The Palace of Mafra (), also known as the Palace-Convent of Mafra and the Royal Building of Mafra (), is a monumental Baroque architecture, Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal, Mafra, P ...

, a major project that brought him into contact with other well-known Portuguese artists, as well as the work of French and Italian

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

masters. Later, he would work with

Vieira Lusitano Francisco de Matos Vieira, better known as Vieira Lusitano (4 October 1699 – 13 August 1783) was a Portuguese court painter, illustrator and engraver. Biography His father was a maker of socks and stockings.

(who may have been a former student) at the

Paulist The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Isaac Hecker in collaboration wi ...

convent, and the Church of the Child of God. In the 1740s, he decorated the convent at the Church of Mater Dei. Paintings of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

and

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

at the "Sacred Heart of Jesus Church" in

Santa Cruz da Graciosa Santa Cruz da Graciosa () is a Portuguese municipality on the volcanic island of Graciosa, in the archipelago of the Azores. The population in 2011 was 4,391, in an area of 60.66 km2. It includes four local parishes and one municipal governm ...

, have been identified as his. In the 1750s, he returned to the Church of Mater Dei, where he was commissioned to paint a series of scenes depicting Saint Joseph's life in Egypt for the sacristy and a rendition of

The Assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

for the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. Among his final works were a series of portraits of saints for the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

at the Church of Saint Roch. Many of his works were destroyed or severely damaged in the

Lisbon earthquake of 1755 The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

Sources

* José Alberto Gomes Machado, ''André Gonçalves - Pintura do Barroco Português'', Estampa, 1996 * Susana Cavaleiro Ferreira Nobre Gonçalves, ''André Gonçalves e a Pintura de Cavalete em Portugal no tempo de D. João V (1706-1750). O caminho da Internacionalização'' (Master of Arts Dissertation,

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

, 2002
Online

External links

"Pinturas de André Gonçalves que e Encontram no Convento de Cristo São Cedidas Temporariamente para Serem Expostas em Lisboa"
Exhibition of his paintings from the

Convent of Christ (Tomar) The Convent of Christ () is a former Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal. Originally a 12th-century Templar stronghold, when the order was dissolved in the 14th century the Portuguese branch was turned into the Knights of the Order of Christ, ...

, April 2015
Closeup of the brochure
catalogue from the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goncalves, Andre 1685 births 1754 deaths Artists from Lisbon Religious artists 18th-century Portuguese painters 18th-century male artists Portuguese male painters 17th-century Portuguese artists