Francisco Manoel das Chagas (17-- - 17-?)
Sculptor.
Known as "o Cabra" [the Goat], little is known about his life and work, and it is uncertain whether he was a freed slave. He is known to have been self-taught and to have been active in the second half of the 18th century in Salvador. The only documentation is a contract signed between 1757 and 1758 with the Ordem Terceira do Carmo [Third Order of Carmel] for three images of Christ: Cristo Crucificado [Christ Crucified], Cristo Sentado na Pedra [Christ Seated on the Stone] and Cristo com a Cruz nas Costas [Christ Carrying the Cross]. In 1788, a devastating fire broke out in the Igreja do Carmo, and nothing confirms that these works survived, although there is strong evidence that the last two were preserved. Several other works are attributed to him: an image of Senhor Jesus dos Passos (transferred in 1764 to Santa Catarina); Cristo Atado à Coluna [Christ Bound to the Column] (shown at the 24th São Paulo International Biennial in 1998); and an image of Nossa Senhora das Dores [Our Lady of Sorrows], among others. The lack of reliable information about Chagas has allowed legends to flourish. One of them involves the image of Senhor Jesus dos Passos mentioned above. Bound for Rio Grande do Sul, the ship carrying the work had to anchor in Santa Catarina; its many attempts to continue the voyage were thwarted, and the captain bowed to the "divine will". Soon afterward, in January 1765, the Irmandade do Senhor Jesus dos Passos [Brotherhood of Our Lord Jesus of the Stations] was founded in Santa Catarina. The inclusion of his works in exhibitions such as the 24th São Paulo International Biennial and O Universo Mágico do Barroco Brasileiro [The Magical Universe of the Brazilian Baroque], both in São Paulo in 1998, shows the recent interest in the artist's work. Cristo Atado à Coluna appears on the cover of the CD Se Deus Vier, que Venha Armado [If God Comes, Let Him Come Armed], released in 1999 by the São Paulo rap group Pavilhão 9.
Critical Commentary
Despite the uncertainty about the true extent of his output, some general tendencies can be identified in the art of Francisco das Chagas, o Cabra. In a broader context, the strong presence of religious subjects, typical of Baroque art, is striking in his images. If there is no innovation in content, there is some boldness in form. The second half of the 18th century - according to more recent interpretations - was a period of preparation for Brazil's political independence, so that the affirmation of nationality, through the valuing of local characteristics and initiatives, is present in various cultural expressions of the time. A subtle rebellion against the rigidity of the standards of the metropolis arose among the cultural elite. The flexibility and lightness of forms, as well as the strength of passionate expression, appear in different tones as the hallmark of this generation of artists. These characteristics are visible in the images attributed to Chagas.
Moreover, his prominent position in the Bahian Baroque scene is undeniable. Cristo Atado à Coluna is the main attraction of the Museu da Ordem Terceira do Carmo, which, together with the Convento do Carmo, the Salvador Cathedral (the former Jesuit college) and the Convento de São Francisco, makes up the most important ensemble of religious art in Salvador. There are many references to Chagas's work as the starting point of Bahia's sculptural wealth. Aníbal Mattos, a scholar of Brazilian colonial art, even draws an analogy between what he represents for the Bahian Baroque and the role of Aleijadinho (1730 - 1814) in the Baroque of Minas Gerais. Mário de Andrade (1893 - 1945), in turn, identifies him as a forerunner of the "imposition of the mulatto" in 18th-century Brazilian art, a phenomenon spanning the visual arts and music and involving Mestre Valentim and Aleijadinho himself, among others. Chagas's talent thus seems confirmed by these incisive, though rare, critical comments.
His most famous work, Cristo Atado à Coluna, is strongly expressive. In a typically Baroque manner, the body of Christ is shown in motion with anatomical precision. The movement is light and resolute; far, on the one hand, from an abrupt pulling away from the column and, on the other, from a calm resignation to the bonds. The gaze turned to heaven, seeking the Father, seems to complete spiritually the body's upward impulse, giving greater meaning to the movement. Being bound to the column, a sign of the earthly world, hinders Christ's ascent. His extraordinary facial expression conveys a kind of understanding suffering. Even disfigured by pain, his face reveals the mercy and serenity of one who can understand his aggressors. An ambiguous expression, hard to fathom. The ability to represent such complex feelings does justice to Chagas's reputation as the great initiator of Baroque sculpture in Bahia.
Critiques
"(...) But the most important proof that there was a collective surge of Brazilian raciality lies in the imposition of the mulatto. For two centuries the Colony, solely by force of its economic circumstances, and without the slightest political intervention from Portugal, had been enriching itself with some artistic achievements. (...) New artists begin to be born in the Colony who deform the overseas lesson without any possible systematization. And among these artists the mulatto shines greatly.
Caldas Barbosa and Mestre Valentim are mulattos. Leandro Joaquim, of the same period and one of the best painters in Rio, is also of mixed race. Father José Maurício Nunes Garcia (1767 - 1830), very much a mulatto, is the most notable of our colonial musicians. (...) And Aleijadinho is yet another mulatto. These examples suffice to understand this side, not dominant but intensely visible, of how the Brazilian race was asserting itself at that moment.
(...)
And I forgot to mention that in Bahia, first in date in this gathering of renowned mulattos, Chagas, o Cabra, had vigorously preluded the chorus of the national image-carvers. (...)"
Mário de Andrade
ANDRADE, Mário de. Aspectos das artes plásticas no Brasil. 3.ed. Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia, 1984. 96 p. (Obras completas de Mário de Andrade, 12), p. 13. Esse ensaio foi editado pela primeira vez no livro O Aleijadinho e Álvares de Azevedo. Rio de Janeiro: R. A. Editora, 1935.
"The sculpture of Francisco das Chagas deserves special mention, which is why we devote a separate paragraph to his works, as they merit their own appraisal. We have only one contract, made with him by the Ordem 3ª do Carmo in the Bahian capital; however, the analysis of this contract and of these images provides a sure starting point for attributing other sculptures to him, not because he had a style of his own, but rather a way of working different from that of the other sculptors then active in Bahia. (...)"
Carlos Ott
OTT, Carlos. História das artes plásticas na Bahia: 1550 a 1900. Salvador: Alfa, 1993. v. 2. p. 45.
Posthumous Exhibitions
1998 - São Paulo SP - 24th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1998 - São Paulo SP - O Universo Mágico do Barroco Brasileiro [The Magical Universe of the Brazilian Baroque], at Galeria de Arte do Sesi
Source: Itaú Cultural
