The Holy Trinity of the church of the parish of Vera Cruz is a sculptural set developed by Joaquim Marques dos Santos, a barrister sculptor from Aveiro and goldsmith.
The piece was kept at the Museum of Aveiro / Santa Joana, after having been part of the major exhibition of the Municipal Holiday, in 2018. As it is in a very poor state of conservation, the Parish of Vera Cruz asked the Municipality of Aveiro to collaborate in its restoration.
After an accurate intervention in the Laboratory of Conservation and Restoration of the Museum of Aveiro / Santa Joana, the result of a partnership between the Municipality of Aveiro and the Parish of Vera Cruz, the Holy Trinity has now taken back its place in the church’s baptistery, where it can be visited and enjoyed.
Made in terracotta, polychrome, and gilded, it is associated with a structure in partially gilded wood and features superior quality modeling. It is evident by its rare iconography, the Trinity – mystery that theologically defines God as three consubstantial persons – which is represented in the traditional form with God the Father, figured as a man of old age and bearded, Christ, His Son, as a man in adulthood and the Holy Spirit is exceptionally represented by a boy holding a dove, and not just this bird as is often the case. In the center, a triangle with the inscription HI TRES UNUS SUNT, that is, a unit composed of three. Built for the church of Vera Cruz, where it was already in 1782, it passed to the church of Nossa Senhora da Presentation, where it stands today.
Originally placed inside the gilded carved altarpiece, which partially conceals the work, it can now be seen and enjoyed in all its splendor, as a result of the new way in which it is presented, on a fully visible glass structure.
This intervention and good collaboration between the Municipality of Aveiro and the Parish of Vera Cruz affirms the municipal commitment to the preservation of Aveiro’s heritage, highlighting the recovery of this precious legacy by a notable local artist.
