Renata Alves

Ernesto Korrodi was born in Zurich in 1870, studied sculpture in the same city and continued in Italy.
In 1889, arrived to Portugal to become a teacher in art.
He will be one of the voices fighting against the injustice, and all the crimes of abandon and ruin of the historic patrimony. Therefore, he dedicates his work to the reconstruction of historic monuments, in particular the Castle of Leiria, where he establishes himself, showing a great love for it, as we can see by the choice of his grave: located in the cemetery specifically situated in a site facing the Castle, so they could be linked forever.
As regards to funerary art, Korrodi, originates a disruption with the models that were used by then, he will improve and modernize by using new art tendencies that he was aware through the magazines he received.
His tumular models will then became an inspiration, and will be often copied, we are going through a change from the neogothic inspiration, to a more eclectic, organic and modernized way.
This is what we intend to present: how an artist influenced and got linked with the art of a foreign country, leaving his mark and his sensibility.
And more particular, how could he manage to change the old funerary models and make a difference in the Portuguese cemeteries.

Em Portugal, com o surgimento do fenómeno do cemitério romântico, as elites sociais foram abandonando o tradicional hábito de inumar os seus mortos nas capelas dos solares, ou nas capelas vinculadas e privativas existentes em outros edifícios religiosos, nomeadamente em igrejas conventuais. Esta transformação deveu-se a causas de ordem legal, mas também de ordem cultural, entre outras. Porém, houve algumas resistências. Em certos casos, contornando os pressupostos das disposições legais referentes a higiene pública, figuras da principal nobreza do país procuraram evitar o recurso aos cemitérios, ou então tentaram replicar, nos cemitérios, os modelos tradicionais de inumação, com recurso a construções tumulares invulgares e de grande monumentalidade.
Nesta comunicação, abordamos alguns destes casos, centrando-nos sobretudo nas figuras do Duque de Palmela (em Lisboa), do Conde do Farrobo (em Vila Franca de Xira) e do Marquês da Graciosa (em Anadia).