Paths of Art History in Northwest Portugal in the First Quarter of the 18th Century

The history of Portuguese art will be better understood the more the important contribution made at various times by the different regional schools is clarified. As with other sectors of history, researchers have, in recent years, dedicated increasing attention to this study. From this perspective, we decided to ask ourselves about the paths taken by art, and especially by architecture, in the late 17th century and the first decades of the 18th century, in the Minho province or, more specifically, in the area that then corresponded to the Archdiocese of Braga and which had the city of that name and Viana as its most active centres. Braga was the archiepiscopal city, from which the Archbishops guided the religious life of their flock, establishing rules, providing guidance, commissioning works and exercising effective patronage.