HUGUET
(d. 1438)

Interior view

begun 1435
Photo
Monastery of Santa Maria de Vitória, Batalha

Huguet's most important work in the monastery at Batalha was in the two burial chapels attached to the church, the square Capela do Fundador on the south side, completed in 1434, containing the tombs of Joao I and his wife, and the circular chapel intended as a mausoleum for Duarte I (1433-1438) and his family. This remained unfinished, and is therefore called the Capelas Imperfeitas, the Unfinished Chapel.

The Capela do Fundador (the Founder's Chapel) is a masterpiece of masonry work. The rectangular space is brightly lit, an octagonal dome with delicate stellar vaulting over the tomb of the royal couple. Everything - architectural members, ribs, moldings, plant and heraldic motifs - is executed with the utmost delicacy,

The picture shows the interior of the Capelas Imperfeitas. Its construction was begun in 1435, work was abandoned in 1533.




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