You are on Rua das Flores, a street King Manuel I had laid out in the 16th century and which soon filled with noble houses and goldsmiths. In front of you is the church of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, the city's great charitable brotherhood.

1A Nasoni façade

The first church was begun in 1555. In April 1621 lightning destroyed its façade, and what you see is the rebuilding designed by Nicolau Nasoni in 1748: Baroque, with Rococo touches and the date 1750 in the central cartouche.

2The unsigned painting

The brotherhood's treasure is the Fons Vitae, the «Fountain of Life», a large oil painting on oak more than two and a half metres tall. It shows Christ on the cross, his blood filling a fountain, and below, kneeling, King Manuel I and his family. It is dated to about 1515-1517 and was painted in Flanders.

Today it is attributed to Colijn de Coter, but technical studies have found more than one hand in the underdrawing, so its authorship remains an open question.

Who commissioned it, how it came from Flanders and who really painted it are questions art historians are still debating. A mystery without ghosts, but a genuine one.

3What to look for

  • The cartouche dated 1750 high on the façade.
  • The pinnacles and cross crowning the Baroque façade.
  • The iron balconies of the neighbouring houses on Rua das Flores.
The Fons Vitae panel with Christ on the cross and Manuel I's family kneeling
The Fons Vitae, c. 1515-1517, of disputed authorship.

Documented

The present façade is by Nasoni (designed 1748, dated 1750); the Fons Vitae is dated to about 1515-1517 and attributed to Colijn de Coter, an attribution technical studies have qualified.

Sources and credits

Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Porto, Museu e Igreja da Misericórdia (MMIPO); Universidade Católica Portuguesa, technical study of the Fons Vitae (institutional repository); Direção-Geral do Património Cultural.

Photos:

  • Baroque façade of the Misericórdia church on Rua das Flores: Manuel de Sousa, Dominio público.
  • The Fons Vitae panel with Christ on the cross and Manuel I's family kneeling: Halley Oliveira, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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