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Chapels of the Stations of the Passion
Ouro Preto, Vila Rica, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Religious Architecture
These small chapels, each of which houses an altar, were built on the initiative of the Brotherhood of Our Lord of the Passion for use in the procession held on Palm Sunday (the only time when they are open), perpetuating an old European tradition. The brotherhood was officially established in 1715. Temporary structures were used at first, which were assembled at different points along the route of the procession through the streets of Vila Rica. Permanent, fixed chapels began to be built in 1728. Manuel Francisco Lisboa (the father of O Aleijadinho) appears in the Records of the Brotherhood of the Passion as the man responsible for the construction of some of them. Several Stations of the Passion were already considerably ruined by 1786 and the brotherhood decided to rebuild them on the more commonly used streets, such as Rua Direita, Rua do Rosário, Rua da Ponte Seca and Rua de São José. Other chapels were not built until the 19th century. The Station of the Passion in Rua da Ponte Seca was one of the first to be rebuilt (1788-1792). The contract for its construction was awarded to António de Barros. This simple building (consisting of a hipped roof and corner pilasters topped by pinnacles, with an oculus at the centre of the gable) stands out from the other stations due to its location near a sharp bend in the street and without any other building at its side. There used to be an oil painting by Master Ataíde inside (depicting the scene of Jesus with Veronica) which was taken to the museum of the Parish Church of Pilar. The Station in Rua do Rosário is located on the street leading to the square of the same name (now Rua Getúlio Vargas) and corresponds to the Station of the Flagellation. Its particular location, adjoining a house on a narrow, angled corner, produces an extremely picturesque visual effect. The Station in Rua de São José bears the image of Christ of the Green Cane (the scene of the Crown of Thorns), and the plot of land for its construction was donated in 1808. The reconstruction of the Station in Praça Tiradentes dates from the same time; it is not an annexed building, but rather a room of the house located at the corner of Rua Conde de Bobadela (the former Rua Direita do Pilar). It bears a small image of “Christ Carrying the Cross”, which seems to date back to the 18th century. The Station of António Dias is located in the former Rua Direita of the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Conception and was built around 1843 by Captain-General José Bento Soares, in a style that was typical of the 19th century (a semicircular lintel above the door, a glazed fanlight, a pediment with straight lines, and pyramidal pinnacles). The five “Stations” were listed by IPHAN in 1939 and restored in the early 1980s.
Cláudia Damasceno Fonseca