Bento Coelho da Silveira — the Portuguese "fa presto" — in the MASF collection. - A Baroque light in the Presentation of the Child in the Temple
6pm
This conference will be held in portuguese.
CONFERENCE
The Museum of Sacred Art of Funchal recently added to its collection an oil painting on canvas, securely attributed to the Portuguese painter Bento Coelho da Silveira, depicting the theme of the "Presentation of the Child in the Temple." It is a painting in the style of Baroque aesthetics.
Bento Coelho da Silveira died in 1708, although his birth is estimated to be around 1620. His life and work have been extensively studied through the research of art historians Moura Sobral and Vitor Serrão, based on direct observation of a significant collection of paintings in mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira, as well as through archival and bibliographic documentation, although some aspects of his personal, family, and even artistic life remain to be discovered. Bento Coelho da Silveira was praised in various literary works of his time, a contemporary recognition of the quality of his pictorial work, even being called a "master," "illustrious painter," and "good colorist." According to Moura Sobral and Vitor Serrão, he was one of the most interesting and rich figures in the history and culture of Portuguese Baroque art.
His work shows the direct or indirect influence of Spanish painting. He left a vast body of work, only possible due to his rapid execution – "fa presto" – inventoried and identified from North to South of the Portuguese territory, as well as in the Azores and Madeira Island, in both public and private collections.
Of particular note is the corpus of work existing on Madeira Island, with religious themes, including a signed canvas, "Santa Rosa de Lima," now in the Quinta das Cruzes Museum, possibly from the Convent of Santa Clara, and a group of paintings in the sacristy of the Church of São João Evangelista (College).
The arrival in Funchal of the painting "Presentation of the Child in the Temple," dating from the last quarter of the 17th century and incorporated into the Museum of Sacred Art of Funchal through a gracious donation from the late Father Vitor Manuel Dinis de Oliveira, enriches the existing movable heritage of Portuguese Baroque art in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE OF THE SPEAKER
RITA RODRIGUES
PhD in INTERCULTURAL STUDIES (2013) and Master's degree in HISTORY / ART HISTORY (2000) from the University of Madeira; graduated in FINE ARTS / PAINTING from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Madeira (1986). She was a scholarship recipient from the Regional Secretariat of Education (Autonomous Region of Madeira) and ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation for the development of her doctoral thesis (2007 to 2010), whose study addresses "Proto-Baroque and Baroque Painting in the Madeira Archipelago (1646-1750): The effectiveness of the image".
She is an integrated researcher at the ARTIS Research Center and AZ-Tile Research Network of the Institute of Art History / Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon.
She has taught at various levels of education (secondary and university) since 1980, and between 2015 and 2025 she was on secondment to the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Culture – Regional Directorate of Culture, where she was head of the Heritage Studies Division, from October 2020 to December 2024.
She conducts research in the area of cultural heritage of the Madeira Archipelago, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, as well as artistic commissions and the prosopographical study of regional patrons during the golden ages of the sugar economy – “white gold” – and wine production, particularly in the religious art component. She also studies contemporary art in the context of regional production, and its stylistic relationships, from a comparative perspective.
She has published scientific works in books, scripts, guides, dictionaries, magazines and catalogs (regional, national and international).
CONFERENCE
The Museum of Sacred Art of Funchal recently added to its collection an oil painting on canvas, securely attributed to the Portuguese painter Bento Coelho da Silveira, depicting the theme of the "Presentation of the Child in the Temple." It is a painting in the style of Baroque aesthetics.
Bento Coelho da Silveira died in 1708, although his birth is estimated to be around 1620. His life and work have been extensively studied through the research of art historians Moura Sobral and Vitor Serrão, based on direct observation of a significant collection of paintings in mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira, as well as through archival and bibliographic documentation, although some aspects of his personal, family, and even artistic life remain to be discovered. Bento Coelho da Silveira was praised in various literary works of his time, a contemporary recognition of the quality of his pictorial work, even being called a "master," "illustrious painter," and "good colorist." According to Moura Sobral and Vitor Serrão, he was one of the most interesting and rich figures in the history and culture of Portuguese Baroque art.
His work shows the direct or indirect influence of Spanish painting. He left a vast body of work, only possible due to his rapid execution – "fa presto" – inventoried and identified from North to South of the Portuguese territory, as well as in the Azores and Madeira Island, in both public and private collections.
Of particular note is the corpus of work existing on Madeira Island, with religious themes, including a signed canvas, "Santa Rosa de Lima," now in the Quinta das Cruzes Museum, possibly from the Convent of Santa Clara, and a group of paintings in the sacristy of the Church of São João Evangelista (College).
The arrival in Funchal of the painting "Presentation of the Child in the Temple," dating from the last quarter of the 17th century and incorporated into the Museum of Sacred Art of Funchal through a gracious donation from the late Father Vitor Manuel Dinis de Oliveira, enriches the existing movable heritage of Portuguese Baroque art in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE OF THE SPEAKER
RITA RODRIGUES
PhD in INTERCULTURAL STUDIES (2013) and Master's degree in HISTORY / ART HISTORY (2000) from the University of Madeira; graduated in FINE ARTS / PAINTING from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts of Madeira (1986). She was a scholarship recipient from the Regional Secretariat of Education (Autonomous Region of Madeira) and ARDITI - Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation for the development of her doctoral thesis (2007 to 2010), whose study addresses "Proto-Baroque and Baroque Painting in the Madeira Archipelago (1646-1750): The effectiveness of the image".
She is an integrated researcher at the ARTIS Research Center and AZ-Tile Research Network of the Institute of Art History / Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon.
She has taught at various levels of education (secondary and university) since 1980, and between 2015 and 2025 she was on secondment to the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Culture – Regional Directorate of Culture, where she was head of the Heritage Studies Division, from October 2020 to December 2024.
She conducts research in the area of cultural heritage of the Madeira Archipelago, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, as well as artistic commissions and the prosopographical study of regional patrons during the golden ages of the sugar economy – “white gold” – and wine production, particularly in the religious art component. She also studies contemporary art in the context of regional production, and its stylistic relationships, from a comparative perspective.
She has published scientific works in books, scripts, guides, dictionaries, magazines and catalogs (regional, national and international).