Documental Survey of Project Prim’art - Portugal Rediscovering Mural Art: Historical and Scientific Study Of Archiepiscopal Évora

Abstract

The importance of documentary research for art history studies in Cultural Heritage is unquestionable to ascertain the date of a masterpiece, confirmation of authorship and acknowledgement or dismissal of its historical theories. Most of the research pertaining to paintings and painters has been conducted by art historians, but what kind of novel information can be obtained from the historians´ point of view? This was the main goal of the survey conducted into the lives of painters who have worked over 400 years ago in the town of Évora during the so-called “golden age” of mural paintings in Southern Portugal and described in this paper. Furthermore, this paper presents a brief overview of the methodology used and shows that it is possible to reconcile the computer language of today with the language of notaries and witnesses of the “De genere” inquiry process of the 16th century.