On his deathbed, a baroque painting by the master Ataide.
The work is a painting made by the painter Mestre Ataíde, in the 18th century and portrays the moment of death when the dying person is surrounded by his loved ones in prayer. Note the strength of faith and conviction of the salvation of the soul that would depart through prayers and prayers.
In a period where the presence of Catholic churches had a significant relevance in people's lives. The metaphysical notion of life involved peace of mind and the assurance that the kingdom of heaven was secured. This was a fact, which over the last few centuries was lost to a great Enlightenment influence and marked by faith in science rather than transcendence.
However, the mark left by Baroque artists is always a guarantee that life has something more.
Who are Mestre Ataíde?
Manoel da Costa Ataíde, better known as Mestre Ataíde (1762 to 1830), was a Brazilian painter, sculptor, gilder and teacher. An important artist of the baroque-rococo school in Minas Gerais, Ataide had a major influence on painting in the region, with many students and followers.
His method of composition, particularly in perspective works on church ceilings, continued to be used until the middle of the nineteenth century. Contemporary documents often refer to him as a teacher of painting.
In 1818 Ataíde tried without success to obtain official permission to found an art school in Mariana, his home town. He owned technical manuals and theoretical tracts such as Andrea Pozzo's "Perspectivae Pictorum Architectorum" from which he must have studied technique.
His art is characterised by the use of bright colours, especially blue. He was a contemporary and colleague of Antônio Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho). In the period 1781 to 1818 he completed and gilded Aleijadinho's images for the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos in Congonhas and the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Ouro Preto.
The historical city
Ouro Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈo(w)ɾu ˈpɾetu], Black Gold), formerly Vila Rica (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ˈʁikɐ], Rich Town), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO because of its outstanding Baroque Portuguese colonial architecture.
Ouro Preto is located in one of the main areas of the Brazilian Gold Rush. Officially, 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the eighteenth century, not to mention what was circulated in an illegal manner, nor what remained in the colony, such as gold used in the ornamentation of the churches.
The municipality became the most populous city of Latin America, counting on about 40 thousand people in 1730 and, decades after, 80 thousand. At that time, the population of New York was less than half of that number of inhabitants and the population of São Paulo did not surpass 8 thousand.
Ouro Preto was capital of Minas Gerais from 1720 until 1897.
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This refered work be on Oratory Museum - next to the church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, displays religious art.
