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Chapel of Bom Jesus das Flores (Chapel of Taquaral)
Ouro Preto, Vila Rica, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Religious Architecture
Located at the edge of the urban area of Vila Rica, Taquaral was the easternmost of the several arraiais or encampments that emerged in the Serra do Ouro Preto. The original chapel, made of rammed earth, was dedicated to Our Lady of Pilar and was a branch of the parish of António Dias. On 28th October, 1748, the settlement’s residents obtained Episcopal permission for the construction of the definitive chapel, made of stone masonry, which was consecrated on 2nd November, 1749. The dedication and name of the chapel was not changed to Bom Jesus das Flores until the second half of the 19th century. Both the structure of the floor plan (the nave, chancel and side sacristy) and that of the façade (a central door, two windows at the level of the choir, open belfries, surmounted by semicircular arches) display similar features to other chapels on the Morro da Queimada (Our Lady of Mercy, Saint Sebastian). This chapel does, however, have some additional decorative details, such as the niche and semicircular frame above the stone portal and the intricately designed glazed oculus. At the top of the gable is a cross on a pedestal. The interior decoration is also more intricate than that of the other chapels on the hill: the carving of the three altars is simple, but it displays an interesting polychromy (probably from the second half of the 18th century), as do the pulpit and crossing arch. During remodelling work undertaken in the 1970s, it was discovered that underneath the repainting carried out in 1930 (a few years before the building was listed in 1939), the ceilings of the nave and chancel still retained their original paintings (as in the Chapel of Padre Faria) with depictions of the patron saints of the two parishes of Ouro Preto (Our Lady of Pilar and Our Lady of the Conception). Through one of the most interesting and most successful attempts at restoration made in Minas Gerais, two rare surviving examples of baroque ceilings were recovered in the region.
Cláudia Damasceno Fonseca