Dissemination of Baroque Architecture within Brazil
Emily Matt
M.Arch Thesis
Lawrence Technological University
Research Snapshots
Research Progress Points:
Analytical Chart
Timeline
Research Snapshot I
Research Snapshot II
Research Snapshot III
Research Purpose
The chart below is a preliminary visual analysis of data points for various churches in Portugal and Brazil for an initial determination of trends in Baroque dissemination. These traits were assigned to churches based on observations of archival photographs.
The churches were arranged chronologically by the year of the start of construction and colored by country of construction. This clearly illustrated two bursts in Baroque church construction: first in Portugal roughly between 1700 and 1750 and second in Brazil roughly between 1750 and 1800. Up until around 1720, the churches had around half the traits. After 1720 the churches had almost all the traits with the exception of azulejos. Azulejos were used early on and imported for use only in one of the Brazilian churches, indicating that Brazilian Baroque churches embraced decorative features that could be utilized without reliance on Portuguese imports.
The timeline helped to develop an understanding of how historical events were related to the construction of churches and architectural trends. The two focuses of this document are architectural characteristics and economic events. This focus has been reflected in the writing of my thesis.
This snapshot document helped me to collect observations from my research and to make the notes from my timeline more tangible. In addition to exploring these observations, it starts to show visual representations of concepts discussed.
This diagrammatic map illustrates architectural trends over time in relation to geography while highlighting select social and economic points on a global scale.
This snapshot document diagrams connections between and within colonial contexts, illustrating not only connections between architectural developments and urban, social, and economic contexts, but also writing priorities.
This diagram indicates a breakdown of the purpose of my thesis, indicating degrees of focus and relationships between purposes. The writing elaborates on these connections to clarify the audience and the impact of the work.
