Known as “The Christs Maker”, Manuel Dias (1688-1755) was one of the most talented sculptors of his time. He ran a Lisbon workshop noted for its production of wooden devotional images ending only with the sculptor’s death in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The conservation and restoration work undertaken on the Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist, belonging to the MNAA, and the research now culminating in this exhibition have attributed the authorship of this sculpture to Dias, identifying it as a representation of Our Lady of Charity. Its distinctive art work makes it possible to place the piece among the group of images produced by the sculptor for many churches in Lisbon.

Curators
Maria João Vilhena de Carvalho
Sandra Costa Saldanha