«Traz à memória a excelência de suas obras e virtudes». D. Frei Aleixo de Meneses (1559-1617), mecenas e patrono

Abstract

Friar D. Aleixo de Meneses (1559-1617), Augustinian monk, Archbishop, Governor of the Estado da Índia and President of the Portuguese Council in Madrid, remains a relatively unknown character of history. My proposal in this article is to put in perspective some personal features of the prelate and emphasize his performance as patron of the arts. Following the apologetic words of Friar Gaspar Amorim, the author of the funerary sermon in homage of the Archbishop read in Cochin in 1618, as well as some of the many letters D. Aleixo wrote to his uncle (the Archbishop of Braga), I will focus on specific examples of his wide patronage both in Portugal and in India.