THE “MASTER OF CROSSED LEGS”:

THE WORKS OF THE WOODCARVER PEDRO JOSÉ PEREIRA IN MINAS GERAIS

Abstract

This article investigates the work of a Rococo woodcarver and his workshop, who made his atlanteans with a very peculiar and personal characteristic: they were supported on the corbels with their legs crossed at the knees. This is Pedro José Pereira, the autor who woodcarved the side altarpieces of the Church of Rosário of Itabirito, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and was active in the last decade of the 18th century. Through the analysis of the artist's authorial features, this study presents the characteristics of his workshop based on the altarpieces proven to have been made in the Rosário of Itabirito, as well as drawing comparisons with other examples in five other churches in the region. This comparison will only be made through formal analysis, since the documentation on these churches is quite lacking. This work seeks to expand knowledge about the arts in eighteenth-century Minas Gerais and to bring to light yet another name of an artisan obliterated by time.