Oratory of King João VI at the Palace of Queluz regains splendour lost for over a century

Two hundred years after the death of King João VI, the National Palace of Queluz has recovered the sumptuous atmosphere and original objects of the space where the monarch would retreat daily in prayer during the period in which he resided there. For the first time in more than a century, it is possible to observe the oratory in a version very close to that experienced by King João VI and to enter the intimacy of his fervent Catholic devotion.

The reconstruction project of the oratory of King João VI was presented yesterday, 10 March, marking the bicentenary of the monarch’s death, at a conference held at the National Palace of Queluz, attended by Susana Graça, Vice-President of the Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo; José Alberto Ribeiro, Director of the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda; Maria de Jesus Monge, Director of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga; and Gilberto Jordan, representing the World Monuments Fund.

‘It is a small compartment, yet one of immense historical, symbolic and museological value,’ began João Sousa Rego, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Parques de Sintra in his address. ‘This project has made it possible to restore to the oratory its architectural dignity, its decorative setting and the historical coherence of the collection it contains. It has been possible to return to this space the objects that belonged to King João VI and to recreate the atmosphere that characterised it in the 1820s and 1830s,’ he underlined.

João Sousa Rego highlighted the in-depth research work that enabled the historically informed reconstruction of this space and emphasised: ‘this is the mission of Parques de Sintra: to care for heritage with knowledge, to return it to the public with rigour and to prepare its future with responsibility.’ He further stressed that this intervention brings visitors closer to ‘a more intimate, more human and more complete part of the history of Queluz’ and concluded by reaffirming Parques de Sintra’s commitment to conservation, research and the enhancement of heritage.

This was followed by presentations from the conservator Hugo Xavier, the architect Inês Guerreiro and the conservator-restorers Joana Loureiro and Inês Magalhães, who, with moderation by António Nunes Pereira, Director of the Palaces of Parques de Sintra, explained the entire process.

A 1905 photograph provided the starting point for assembling the ‘puzzle’

The historical research carried out by Parques de Sintra began with a photograph dated 1905. This image shows the compartment as it was preserved following the death of King Pedro IV, which occurred in the Room Don Quixote, adjacent to the oratory — a significant event that turned this area of the palace into a kind of sanctuary to perpetuate the memory of the Soldier-King.

This was followed by the study of other iconographic and documentary sources, namely period inventories, in order to understand what the space was like and which objects decorated it. Bringing together all the clues led to a surprising and paradoxical conclusion: although the oratory of King João VI is one of the smallest compartments in the Palace of Queluz, it is perhaps the room for which the greatest number of original pieces survive, notably the significant group of paintings that make it a small gallery.

However, most of these objects were dispersed, as a result of the vicissitudes experienced by the Palace and the decisions taken over time. Many of the paintings had already lost their original frames, which had been separated, and had been adapted into mirrors. This was because, during the 20th century, it was considered that some of these paintings did not possess the importance or artistic value attributed to them today, and the frames were given a different use.

Once all the elements had been brought together and the ‘puzzle’ assembled, the intervention phase began, both in the room and in the pieces that King João VI chose to decorate it when he returned from Brazil in 1821. The work involved a multidisciplinary team of conservator-restorers, including specialists in painting, wood, metals, paper and textiles, who worked with the utmost respect for the material history of the objects.

Before reinstating the crimson damask wall covering that originally characterised the space, restoration was carried out on the ceiling, the door and window openings and the remaining wooden elements, as well as on the decorative painting dating from the 1970s, which has been preserved to the present day. It will remain beneath the fabric, serving as historical evidence of the intervention carried out at that time.

The baldachin and altar table that had been lost were reconstructed, and particular attention was given to lighting, an important component of the project in order to confer due dignity on the space and highlight the displayed pieces.

Art in the service of faith in a space as intimate as it is sumptuous

The oratory of King João VI is a small yet densely composed compartment. A space as intimate as it is sumptuous, where the paintings that adorn the walls lined with crimson damask stand out. Beyond their artistic value, it is important to emphasise the emotional significance they would have held not only for King João VI, but also for the subsequent generations who preserved this space unchanged for more than a century, safeguarding its memory.

At the centre stands the altarpiece painting ‘Saint John the Baptist with the Lamb’, the name saint of King João VI, that is, the saint corresponding to the king’s name. It is a sui generis piece, as it consists of a small canvas by Arnaud Pallière (1784-1862), which was enlarged in Brazil but remained detachable and portable so that the monarch could take it with him on his travels.

Another significant painting is ‘Saint Mary Magdalene’ by Domingos Sequeira (1768-1837), executed in Rome when the artist was a pensioner of the real bolsinho, that is, a scholarship holder of Queen Maria I, and was in an academic phase of learning in which copying formed part of the process. It is therefore not an original work, but a copy of a painting by the Italian artist Guido Reni.

The painting ‘Saint Joseph with the Child’, attributed to Princess Maria Francisca Benedita, aunt of King João VI, would also have held particular significance for the king. The same applies to ‘Our Lady of the Conception’ by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848), painted in Rio de Janeiro in 1816, as she is the patron saint of Portugal.

The project, now completed, involved an investment of around 100,000 euros and complements the work carried out in the Room Don Quixote, adjacent to the oratory, where in September last year the deathbed in which King Pedro IV died was reconstructed. All this work aims to enrich the visitor experience and to enable a more faithful reading and interpretation of the chambers that served King João VI, King Miguel I and King Pedro IV, figures whose memory is inseparable from the history of the Palace of Queluz, where Parques de Sintra will continue working on the recovery of other spaces.