Os homens da boa pena e os manuscritos iluminados na Capitania de Minas Gerais no século XVIII

Abstract

This article presents the work of five calligraphers and manuscript painters that worked in the Captaincy of Minas Gerais between the early eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century, covering various locations to meet the demands of tradesmans’ brotherhoods in the manufacture of their statutes. Their works are records of the permanence of illuminated manuscript art in the modern era, with different meanings from those prevalent in the medieval period, making document ornamentation part of the discourse that involved court life and practices of public administration. The decorative motifs used by these calligraphers and painters also testify to how the Captaincy of Minas Gerais was not isolated from the tastes and techniques being propagated worldwide.