Palácio Nacional de Queluz

The Palácio Nacional de Queluz dates from 1747, summer house for Dom Pedro de Bragança (explore in Google Arts & Culture). Dom Pedro is the fifth child of Dom João V, King of Portugal and the moving force behind the Palácio de Mafra (from 1717; my blogpost). Dom João V's successor is Dom Pedro's older brother, Dom José I, whose rule includes the terrible earthquake of 1755 and the appointment of the Marquês de Pombal. The earthquake supplies the reason to build the new Palácio da Ajuda (from 1795; my blogpost).

In 1760, Dom Pedro marries his niece, his brother's eldest daughter and royal heir, Dona Maria I, Princesa do Brasil, Duquesa de Bragança. In 1777, they ascend to the throne together as 'Rainha de Portugal e dos Algarves' (regnant) and 'Rei Consorte' (jure uxoris). With the palace in Lisbon destroyed, and the the palace in Ajuda unfinished, Queluz becomes their new home.

Just outside the concelho boundary of Lisbon, Queluz is part of Sintra. The journey to the village of Queluz is along the CP Sintra line, which we catch from Roma-Areeiro; it's just an eighteen minute ride to Queluz-Belas. The estação ferroviária stands at the north end of the Parque Urbano Felicio Loureiro, a narrow green space made from the old river bed of the Rio Jamor.

Walking out of the station, the Aqueduto da Gargantada, which heads to the Palácio, marks the end of the Parque. It is tempting to imagine the Aqueduto cleaned and painted, or the Parque beautified with updated landscaping, and enlivened with vendors and artwork. In any case, the modest Parque does make for an easy, comfortable connection to the Palácio.

From the village, the Palácio seems unremarkable – except, perhaps, for a few sculptural flourishes. The Largo do Palácio is an enormous empty, incomplete ellipse, paved with dark river stones. Across the Largo, the guns of Regimento de Artilharia Anti-Aérea Nº 1 face the statue of Dona Maria I. Four allegorical statues attend Her, and represent the continents: Europa, (South?) América with a feathered dress, África with an elephant-hat, and Ásia with a headband of blossoms (dumplings?).

Surrounding the Largo, the Palácio is a low-slung, baby-blue stucco wall pierced by large white windows and stone arches. Having seen the palaces at Ajuda and Mafra, the architectural effect feels surprisingly small and unresolved. Squint, and the Torre do Relógio with the dome of the Capela (cúpula de cebola) form a kind of wide gateway on the street. It's otherwise difficult to see anything 'palatial'.

The tourist entrance is just past the Capela.

 

Inside, the tour begins with a number of small sitting rooms, all with interesting combinations of carved and painted trims – panels, swags, and medallions. For example, the juxtaposition of the painted gold urn and the painted dark panel above the sculptural gold clock on the dark stone table is wonderful. As we take pictures, the clock chimes ten.

We complete the loop through the south block, and arrive at the Salão de Baile (Ballroom, top image). Our eyes are drawn upward to a bubbly triple-dome and a pair of beautiful, layered, crystal chandeliers. The room is lined with a series of decorated, mirrored panels and archways between stylized Composite pilasters. The corners are supported by pairs of athletic, bare-chested, golden men. There are curious characters in the roundels in the ceiling, including a woman with fire on the top of her head-covering. At the far end is the Queen herself, crowned, holding the scales of justice in one hand and a sword in the other.

 

 

 

Next to the Salão de Baile is, appropriately, the Sala de Música; we step out of the Rococo and into the Neoclassical. Against the long, interior wall is a stage with an antique grand piano (Clementi Pianoforte, c.1810) and a well-known portrait of Dom Maria I attributed to Giuseppe Troni. The stage is framed by a series of dark Ionic columns, set atop the chair rail. The walls are covered in a warm, banded silk, which gives the surface a glorious sheen. The ceiling is made of shaped and painted wood straps, in alternating warm and cool tones, with intricate carved moldings.

 

From the Sala de Música we enter the Sala do Lanternim (Lantern Room). The room, formerly known as the Sala Escura, is illuminated by a skylight, added by French General Junot in the early nineteenth century with the thought that Napoleon would occupy the Palácio.

From the Sala do Lanternim we access the Capela, the earliest structure of the Palácio, consecrated in 1752. There is some restoration work going on, and a large video panel below the choir balcony shows the progress. The coro banister is exquisitely carved with four delightful lanterns on the posts.

The altarpiece is the center panel of a triptych (André Gonçalves, 1752), and features Nossa Senhora da Conceição, patron saint of Queluz. On the right is a striking depiction of A Prisão de São Pedro e São Paulo, and on the left is a jarring portrait of São Fracisco de Paola ('flaming' cartouche with 'charitas' and re-animated lamb).

The marbleized, amber-red areas of the ceiling seem to evoke ghostly images (stared at them for quite a while and became separated from my group).

 

 

Returning quickly through the Sala do Lanternim and continuing west, we enter a suite of rooms that are assigned to the Queen's sister, Dona Maria Benedita, Princesa do Brasil e Duquesa de Bragança – who, in similar fashion, married her nephew, her sister's eldest son, Dom José I, Príncipe do Brasil.

Putting aside her taste in men, the design of her apartments demonstrates a particular affinity for flattened, chimeric images; they are full of color and personality.

The corridor turns north, and into a formal, private sala de jantar privada, along with an extensive pantry full of porcelanas. There are also excellent views out to the west pavilion and the gardens. 

 

 

 

Adjoining the sala de jantar are two sitting rooms with sparkling Murano glass chandeliers. The corridor turns west, again, and into the Corredor das Mangas (Room of Sleeves) – a connecting corridor that separates the 'front' statue plaza and the 'back' gardens (the breeze created when the doors were opened required the use of glass sleeves on the chandeliers).

The Sala de Mangas is covered in polychromatic azulejos panels. One particularly eye-catching image is of a group of ladies with a mirror, mounted on a pyramid, directing sunlight onto a fire. Nearby is a phoenix rising from another fire. Strange, as we read that the Corredor is one of the few elements of this wing to fully survive a fire in 1934.

 

 

Further west, past another group of sitting rooms, is the Sala dos Embaixadores or the Sala do Trono, currently staged with throne platforms at either end. In addition to the deep-set glass doors, and the checkerboard floor, the most fascinating feature is the ceiling painted under the direction of João de Freitas Leitão. The central image (restored after the fire) shows a group of aristocrats around a false-perspective balustrade open to the sky.

 

 

From the Sala dos Embaixadores the corridor leads to the residential wing known as the Pavilhão Robillon. It is named for the architect Jean Baptiste-Robillon, who followed Mateus Vicente de Oliveira (Robillon was de Oliveira's mentor, but took over after his mentee was called to help rebuild Lisbon after the quake).

The Pavilhão Robillon includes several unusual rooms. We pass first through the Sala do Despacho (Dispatch Room, a long, over-sized office), to the Sala das Açafatas – also described as the Maids of Honor Room. This reminds us of the ladies waiting room, the Sala das Senhoras do Corpo Diplomático, next to the Sala do Corpo Diplomático in Ajuda. The Sala, bright and facing east to the gardens, features another stunning Murano glass chandelier.

To the west, the Sala das Açafatas connects directly to the Toucador da Rainha (the Queen's Dressing Room). Radial lines crisscross the room, with radial lines on the ceiling and in the floor mosaic, and mullions over the mirrors on the walls. Intended to make the room seem more open, the linear patterns feel enclosing, almost web-like. Just as well, as this is a room for the Queen's more intimate meetings.

To the south of the Sala das Açafatas is the Sala das Merendas, also known as the 'Picnic Room'. Meant for small, private meals, the room includes several paintings of wide-eyed people picnicking. More than slightly unsettling, we wonder what those folks are drinking. The ceiling, however is an amazing honeycomb matrix, beautifully clean and regular.

 

 

The last room is the Quarto do Dei, or the Quarto Dom Quixote. It is a circular space within a square structure, covered with a faux-dome medallion. In the cartouches are scenes from the Cervantes novel, perhaps just the type of fables for a monarch, full of romantic chivalry, national idealism, and noble pride. In the center roundel are three muses with harp, quill, and music score. And all around are enchanting images of a slim man on a haggard horse with a long lance, and his stocky squire, in the midst of their adventures.

The tour finishes via the west-facing corridor, which gives us a better look down the Sala do Despacho, and the dark paintings on the ceiling and walls. Also know as the 'Excursion Room', from here we descend the stairs to the lower level and the west terrace. We further descend the Escadaria dos Leões to the gardens and stare back at the extraordinary Doric details and stonework.

 

 

Our exploration of the Jardins do Palácio de Queluz begins with the incredible Canal dos Azulejos. From where we walked to the Palácio, the Parque Urbano Felicio Loureiro, the Rio Jamor is redirected into this channel. Using a series of sluices, the palace staff fill the channel, and the royals and their friends may ride gondola-like boats in the water, past the nautical scenes shown on the tiles. 

The Palácio da Pena may look like Disneyland, but this park has actual rides. Below the Escadaria dos Leões, underneath the west terrace, are the Jaulas das Feras, for caging exotic animals.

 

 

 

 

The exterior of the Pavilhão Robillon is intriguing. On the west facade is the Cascata das Conchas (the Waterfall of the Shells), currently being renovated. The Cascata is the center of five rusticated bays on the lower level; the lines of the rustication make a quarter turn on each side, and join the grotto arcade. The squiggly pattern on the blocks at the Cascata are truly attention-grabbing.

The vertical Cascata bay aligns to the terrace entrance above, and the balcony of the Quarto da Rainha on the second floor. The Doric columns, positioned in pairs, act as a screen that mediates between the five-bay base, and the seven-bay block above. An extra three bays to the north account for the stairs down from the Sala do Despacho. The composition creates jazzy rhythms and counterpoints. Here in the lower gardens, where the structure stands a full three stories, it feels like a palace.

To the south, a stairway rises in a circular sweep, and brings us back to the terrace level. As we walk south, we can look back and see the Fechado Sul of the Pavilhão Robillon, just in front of the Quarto Dom Quixote. Above the Doric screen is a triumphal Ionic arch. In the semi-circular pediment, a group of cherubs tackle a goat. Across the top of the balustrade, are more cherubs; and on top of each end pier, small cannons stand ready. Above the two minor doorways, there are peacocks.

 

The terrace levels out to the south, then ramps up to the east, towards the Jardins Superiores and the entrance known as the Pórtico da Fama (Fame's Gate). Two winged trumpeters astride a pair of winged horses on tall bases announce the opening to the upper gardens, where two sphinxes give additional emphasis.

The Lago de Nereide greets us, and provides an introduction to the sculptural suite by Englishman John Cheere. Anfitrite holds a multi-tiered tray of waters while riding an enormous classical dolphin, in a swirl of carved-stone white-caps. Other smaller dolphins and nereids pierce the waves, and spit water into and out of the stone shell.

The central path leads towards the Fachada de Cerimónias, the formal facade of the west pavilion. There we meet Anfitrite's counterpart at the Lago de Neptuno. Holding his trident, Neptuno stands tall on a writhing mass of dolphins, seaweeds, and water nymphs – the pool encircled by spheres wrapped by eels, spitting, and maidens pouring water.

 

 

On the outside of the Neptuno roundabout, Cheere's suite continues with more mythological figures expressing varying degrees of tranquility and violence. On the corners of the axial path are the seasons (Inverno is missing) – the fellow with the pine cone is Outono. Holding station at the palace doors are Marte (Mars, god of war) e Minerva (goddess of wisdom, but with armor and pike). The plain, village-side facades give no hint of the exuberance on the garden-side. The recently cleaned iron and brightwork, and the refreshed wooden doors and vision panels help the the architecture appear animated and vibrant.

In terms of violence, however, Cheere includes the biblically-titled example of Cain e Abel, which we do not find during our circuit of the grounds. Just want to note here that it looks almost identical to a sculpture we saw at the Casa-Museu Medeiros e Almeida (compare  Sansão a Matar um Filisteu by Nost with Cain e Abel by Cheere – both apparently copying Giambologna, and all starting from Michelangelo).

Perhaps these contradictions are best represented by Meleagro e Atalanta after the hunt – nothing sparks a romance quite like wild-boar bacon.

 

 

 

The Jardins Superiores are separated from the Jardim de Malta by a stone balustrade. Planted in a former reflecting pool, the garden is down a few steps, and incorporates playful fountains, as well as meandering strings of boxwoods.

Here we discover a dedicated team of restorers patiently working on the doors and windows outside the Salão de Baile, which may be one of the best sights of all. We scan the building and take a quick account – so much work. Bravo.