Memórias das Missões em Pinturas de Aldo Locatelli: Analisando representações de santos missionários dos séculos XVI e XIX em igrejas católicas do Rio Grande do Sul (1952-1962)

Abstract

When disembarking in Brazil in 1948, italian muralist Aldo Daniele Locatelli brought with him more than a historical view from an education in the renowned Escola de Artes Andrea Fantoni: His paintings in European churches already projected his fame, awakening the interest of high exponents of the Catholic clergy. It can be said, however, that there are no published studies about this painter that contain a significant deepening of the themes reproduced in churches in Rio Grande do Sul, where the largest profusion of his sacred works are found. The paintings with the themes of the Catholic missions from the 16th Century and of characters highlighted by their actions in this period, or by an a posteriori evangelization connected to its precepts, are what characterizes the approach of this article, in a thematic and technical analysis that reflects the context of the making of two murals integral to the ambience of the Santa Teresinha do Menino Jesus de Porto Alegre church (1952-1957) and of the São Luiz Gonzaga de Novo Hamburgo cathedral (1959-1962). When considered sources, the images no longer possess a merely illustrative function and become part of the documental corpus of a research study. In accordance to this premise, Ivan Gaskell considers that “some historians have provided valuable contributions to our view of the past using images in a sophisticated and especially historical way”. (GASKELL, 2011). It is in this sense that the representative images of Saint Therese D’Ávila, Saint Francisco Xavier, Saint Luiz Gonzaga and Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus allow for reflection about the importance that Catholicism attributed to the perpetuation of the memories of religious missionaries through the visual arts.