The baroque in Minas Gerais: from the revelation of God to the social structure

Abstract

This article is justified by the need to contribute to the reflection on the Revelation of God in the Baroque of Minas Gerais. The Baroque, as an artistic and cultural movement, contributed a lot to religious practices and cultural expressions in Brazil in the 17th and 18th centuries. In Minas Gerais, with the discovery of the gold mines, many went in search of this wealth, soon followed by conflicts and even the emergence of a new social structure. The city of São João del-Rei, with its many Baroque characteristics, fits into this context. However, new understandings must be sought in the idea of how God reveals himself in Baroque artistic and cultural manifestations; where does God reveal himself in the Baroque of Minas Gerais? In this sense, according to the theologian Ignacio Ellacuría, God reveals himself above all to the poor, excluded and marginalized; in the miseries of society.