La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz
We see what we learn to see. For many years, it was thought that the colour of the historical cities of Portugal could be divided into that of the Atlantic north, where the natural colours of materials predominate, and those of the Mediterranean south, favouring the white sensuality of mortar and wh...
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Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles
2006-03-01
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Series: | Bulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles |
Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/crcv/464 |
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doaj-37c879ddbd734617956ddd622807035e2020-11-24T23:56:51ZengCentre de Recherche du Château de VersaillesBulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles1958-92712006-03-0110.4000/crcv.464La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de QueluzJosé AguiarWe see what we learn to see. For many years, it was thought that the colour of the historical cities of Portugal could be divided into that of the Atlantic north, where the natural colours of materials predominate, and those of the Mediterranean south, favouring the white sensuality of mortar and whitewash; as for the azulejos, they were more often than not seen as a nineteenth-century fancy. The difficulties of presenting the architectural particularities of an old monument to the public were long resolved by referring to this over-simplistic model. Today, the truth appears to lie elsewhere. Vestiges of decorative elements such as sgraffito, trompe l’œil, stucco, and colour are being discovered, in strata, throughout the country. The Queluz Palace, inspired by Versailles like many other palaces in Europe in the eighteenth century, is a typical example of this inability to ‘see’ monuments. The recent discovery of remnants of a dark powder-blue (smalt blue) colour challenges the commonly accepted idea that the palace’s facades had always been pink or yellow ochre.http://journals.openedition.org/crcv/464 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
José Aguiar |
spellingShingle |
José Aguiar La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz Bulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles |
author_facet |
José Aguiar |
author_sort |
José Aguiar |
title |
La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz |
title_short |
La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz |
title_full |
La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz |
title_fullStr |
La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz |
title_full_unstemmed |
La couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de Queluz |
title_sort |
la couleur oubliée des cités historiques portugaises et le cas du palais de queluz |
publisher |
Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles |
series |
Bulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles |
issn |
1958-9271 |
publishDate |
2006-03-01 |
description |
We see what we learn to see. For many years, it was thought that the colour of the historical cities of Portugal could be divided into that of the Atlantic north, where the natural colours of materials predominate, and those of the Mediterranean south, favouring the white sensuality of mortar and whitewash; as for the azulejos, they were more often than not seen as a nineteenth-century fancy. The difficulties of presenting the architectural particularities of an old monument to the public were long resolved by referring to this over-simplistic model. Today, the truth appears to lie elsewhere. Vestiges of decorative elements such as sgraffito, trompe l’œil, stucco, and colour are being discovered, in strata, throughout the country. The Queluz Palace, inspired by Versailles like many other palaces in Europe in the eighteenth century, is a typical example of this inability to ‘see’ monuments. The recent discovery of remnants of a dark powder-blue (smalt blue) colour challenges the commonly accepted idea that the palace’s facades had always been pink or yellow ochre. |
url |
http://journals.openedition.org/crcv/464 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT joseaguiar lacouleuroublieedesciteshistoriquesportugaisesetlecasdupalaisdequeluz |
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1725456320951222272 |