Visualizing Portuguese Power

Images have always played a vital role in political communication and in the visualization of power structures and hierarchies. They gain even more importance in situations where non-verbal communication prevails: In the negotiation processes between two (or more) different cultures, the language of the visual is often thought of as the more effective way to acquaint (and overpower) the others with one's own principles, beliefs, value systems. Scores of these asymmetrical exchange situations have taken place in the Portuguese overseas Empire since its gradual expansion in the 16th century. In art history, the role of images in the contact zones of the early modern empires has recently met with an increasing interest. It is above all the study of objects belonging to the so-called Jesuit Mission Art and the Art produced in the context of the other religious orders that has shed new light on the potentiality of images in transcultural exchange processes. Numerous of these religious art works were, however, also used to visualize political claims and transmit notions of colonial power. That is why this volume aims at developing thoughts on the broad phenomenon of Portuguese-Christian Art in the Portuguese colonies further by adding the dimension of the political appropriation of these (and other) objects. How were these "hybrid" artifacts staged and handled to generate new layers of meaning and visualize political ideas and concepts? The underlying question of this volume's contributions is whether there were, also in the profane sphere of the visualization of political ideas and structures, phenomena of accommodation comparable to those in the sphere of the religious image: Do we find adaptations to the local artistic and ceremonial customs when it comes to demonstrate Portuguese power in the overseas regions? Rather than renewing emphasis on the outdated concept of an active center that sends its messages into the passive and receptive peripheries, the contributors aim at analyzing the transmission processes and the development of transcultural imaginations in the sphere of the political use of the image. Contributors: Márcia Almada, Jens Baumgarten, Maria Berbara, Pamila Gupta, Barbara Karl, Urte Krass, Giuseppe Marcocci, Giuseppina Raggi, Carla Alferes Pinto and Ines G. Zupanov.