English
Church and Convent of Saint Antony
Igarassu, Pernambuco, Brazil
Religious Architecture
The Convent of Igarassu was founded during the early years of Franciscan presence in Brazil (1588) in the second most important city of the Pernambuco Captaincy. It was abandoned during the period of Dutch rule and then totally rebuilt in the second half of the 17th century. The church building is known to have been raised between 1662 and 1664; its chancel was replaced by a larger one in the 1680s. Fragments of a polychrome stone altar found in the convent date from this period of reconstruction. The present façade results from two different alterations. The first of these was in the 1660s, and followed the pattern set some time beforehand in Ipojuca: a three-arched galilee with a single door leading to the nave, three rectangular win- dows corresponding to the upper choir, and possibly a triangular pediment. Ipojuca also served as a model for other areas of the convent, namely the cloister (1689-91). Possibly in the mid-18th century, a second modification introduced changes in the façade, which this time followed the pattern of Cairu, adding the blind side wall segments over which volutes stand, as well as an intricate pediment with first and second volutes. The church’s decoration, dating from this second modification, comprises a painted upper choir with a crucifix, a remarkable set of tiles inspired by European engravings and a painted ceiling based on the same source. Another noteworthy architectural feature is the new (18th-century) sacristy behind the chancel, resolved by rectangles whose corners are cut by curved wall segments (a rare option in this part of the country). Like the church, this sacristy’s decoration is quite rich and includes tiles which cover entire walls, carved and painted furniture, a painted ceiling and a monumental washbasin made of Portuguese stone.