Mateus Fernandes (died 10 April 1515) was a Portuguese architect born inCovilhã. He was noted for his works in theManueline style at theMonastery of Batalha, Portugal.
He became master of works at the monastery ofBatalha in 1490 or slightly earlier, during the reign of kingJohn II of Portugal. Before this date, nothing is known of his private life, as he has left no records to consult other than his architectural marvels. He succeeded the architect Fernão de Évora as architect of the monastery. Mateus Fernandes later became the primary architect of the next king,Manuel I of Portugal, who made him the supervisor of other architectural works in the rest of the country.
However, Mateus Fernandes is best known for his work in "Manueline style" at the entranceportal of the roofless, Unfinished Chapels (Capelas Imperfeitas) of theMonastery of Batalha. The exceptionally large portal rises to a monumental fifteen m by 7½ m wide (50 x 25 ft), overshadowing the rest of the chapels at the monastery. It was originally built inLate Gothic style, but was transformed beyond recognition by Fernandes into one of the first masterpieces of Manueline style (completed in 1509). The Manueline style would then spread from Batalha throughout all Portugal.
The portal is completely decorated into a lacework of sumptuous Manueline motifs, with flamboyanticonography including thearmillary symbol of thecosmos, the cross of theOrder of Christ (that decorated the sails of the Portuguese ships of the discoverers), spheres, winged angels, ropes, circles, tree stumps,trefoil arches and florid projections. Fernandes was again original by making the sculptural aspect dominate over the architectural aspect, united in an asymmetrical composition. Mateus Fernandes has tried to represent in stone, the exuberant and expansive spirit in the reign of king Manuel.
In the homage of King Manuel I to his predecessor, king D. Duarte mentions his mottoLeauté faray tam yaserei (I will always be loyal). This motto was then repeated more than two hundred times, carved into the stone arches,vaults and pillars of the chapels. The original plans for anoctagonaldome, supported by buttresses, to crown this pantheon to theHouse of Aviz was never to be finished since funds ran out, and the construction of theJerónimos Monastery atBelém would gain absolute priority.
Together with the architectDiogo Boitac, he rendered the Manueline style in the tracery of thearcade screens in theambulatory of the Royal Cloister (Claustro Real) in the Jerónimos Monastery. Fernandes also worked with Boitac to build theabattoirs ofCoimbra in 1511. Boitac was another important Manueline architect and sculptor, who even became the son-in-law of Fernandes by marrying his daughter Isabel Henriques in 1512.
He (or his son, since they carried the same name) is reported to have directed the construction of the church and the hospital of Misericórdia atÓbidos, while they were engaged at the same time inCaldas da Rainha.[1]
Mateus Fernandes died in Batalha on 10 April 1515 and was buried, with his wife, under a marble tomb-slab close to the portal of the monastery. Diogo Boitac was buried in a tomb close by in 1528. Fernandes was succeeded as master of works at the monastery in 1516 by his sonMateus Fernandes the Younger (died 1528), who had already been deputized to supervise construction at the monastery in his father's absence.
Because of East Indian influences in his work and a vague similarity to the design of the Indian Jain temple ofAhmedabad,[2] scholars have often tried to link Mateus Fernandes to Tomás Fernandes, a military architect in India, or to Diogo Fernandes ofBeja, who was a member of the embassy inGujarat in 1513. But all this has remained conjecture. The north porch ofSt Mary Redcliffe atBristol has a resemblance to his style, which is a possibility because of the frequent contacts between Portugal and England.[3]
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