An exhibition with the four final studies by the painter Domingos Sequeira (1768-1837) for the “Adoration of the Magi”, “Descent from the Cross”, “Ascension” and “Last Judgement” opens on April 18 at the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon.
The works, which have not been shown to the public together for almost three decades, will be presented in the exhibition “Sequeira: the final studies”, until May 26, as part of an initiative on Friends’ Day, promoted by the Group of Friends of the National Museum of Ancient Art (MNAA), the organization said in a statement.
The four studies, which will be on display in the museum’s Painted Ceiling Room, were intended for the final paintings that Domingos Sequeira made in Rome between 1827 and 1833, the year he stopped working, and have not been shown to the public together since 1997, according to the MNAA, which has more than 750 drawings by the artist in its collection.
Projected in large formats, on the scale of the paintings, they reveal that the painter developed the four fundamental themes of Christianity: the Adoration of the Magi, the Descent from the Cross, the Ascension and the Last Judgement, each imagined as a major production, in a large space and involving a large number of figures.
“The first stage in the process of idealizing the paintings, in these studies Sequeira showed the enormous mastery of which he was capable as a draughtsman. He evokes shapes and volumes, modeled through the contrast of chiaroscuro. And, at the limit of the dematerialization of the figures that are already pointed out, he leads us, in each of the compositions, to the discovery of the emotive capacities of light, of great expressive and dramatic effectiveness,” describes the museum in the press release about the drawings.
Because of his talent, the Portuguese painter obtained aristocratic protection and a scholarship to study in Rome, where he met several masters and won several academic prizes. He died in the Italian capital in 1837.
“The drawings result in four visions that are also the artist’s reflections on the tradition of European art and the paths he defended for the art of his time,” the MNAA also points out about the works classified as assets of national interest.
In 2015-2016, through a public fundraising campaign, the MNAA acquired the painting “Adoration of the Magi” for 600,000 euros, and the Livraria Lello Foundation bought the canvas “Descent from the Cross” in March this year for 1.2 million euros, after the Portuguese state failed to acquire it from the private owner.
Through an agreement signed between the foundation and the Ministry of Culture at the time, the painting will be studied and exhibited in national museums.
The case sparked controversy after it was reported that it had been officially authorized to leave the country, contrary to expert advice that it should be classified as an asset of national interest and an acquisition that the state tried to negotiate for up to 850,000 euros, without success.
When the work “Descent from the Cross” was presented at the Ajuda Palace in March, the Museus e Monumentos de Portugal indicated that negotiations were still underway to acquire the paintings “Ascension” and “Last Judgement”, both unfinished and in private hands.
Created in 1884, the MNAA houses the most important public collection in the country – from painting, sculpture, Portuguese, European and Expansion decorative arts – from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, including the largest number of works classified as “national treasures”, as well as the largest collection of Portuguese furniture.
