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Image Not Available for São Miguel Arcanjo [St. Michael Archangel]
São Miguel Arcanjo [St. Michael Archangel]
Image Not Available for São Miguel Arcanjo [St. Michael Archangel]

São Miguel Arcanjo [St. Michael Archangel]

Primary
Place MadeMinas Gerais, Brazil, South America
NationalityBrazilian, South America
Date18th century
MediumOil and gold-leaf on wood
DimensionsAdditional Dimension: 40 9/16 × 28 × 20 in. (103 × 71.1 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase, 2018.346
Collection AreaLatin American Art
Object number2018.346
On View
On view
Locations
  • exhibition  BMA, Gallery, A12
Label Text
Decades later after the discovery of the gold mines, local artists developed their own style in the Minas Gerais area. The most influential of them was Brazilian sculptor of African descent Antônio Francisco Lisboa known as Aleijadinho, whose workshop in the town of Ouro Preto was very prolific by 1772. The image of São Miguel Arcanjo was made following his style, reproducing the powerful s-curve stance, delicate lips, and delineated eyebrows and eyelids characteristic of the leading artist. Throughout the eighteenth century, wood sculptures made in Minas Gerais, whether attached to altarpieces or stand-alone carvings like these two, aimed to assert their donors' wealth and social status.