THE DOME AS REASON AND SCIENCE IN DEVOTIONAL CONSTRUCTION

The covering of devotional space with the dome option is a strategy of the architectural design affirmed in Coimbra and Portugal with the arrival of Jean de Rouen. A theme originated from classical culture and always associated with the centralization of plans, it would be up to Jean de Rouen to introduce it to the altarpiece plasticity that organizes the devotional world of the Christian church of the 16th century. But, at the same time that the cosmic dimension contained there captures the scientific nature of discourse, it also goes beyond the "two-dimensional" boundary of the altarpiece as well. Quickly, the solution of the dome would integrate a harmonic set between the created space and the forms; and between the elements of architecture, ornament and decoration. With particular focus on the central region of Portugal and the area of activity of Jean de Rouen, the new chapels to be built would often adopt a system of coverage from which it is possible to recognized the French artist. It also identifies an erudite character based on his presumable formation in Normandy and in all the contributions provided by the Italian Renaissance and the architectural treatises. More than a sculptor, Jean de Rouen is perhaps more concerned with the definition of space and with issues related to proportion and balance in the use of such space. Key-words: Architecture, sculpture, Jean de Rouen, dome, Renaissance.

Respecting to the dome that encloses the architectural space, this text will face three fundamental problems regarding to what Jean de Rouen's production tells us. The first will deal with: I. The difficulty of placing Jean de Rouen as architect or sculptor, while, at the same time, understanding up to what point is legit and historiographically appropriate to limit him to just one of these disciplinary areas. António Justi should make the golden bronze plates (Bardati et al., 2003: 15-16) (Garcia, 1923: 24), as well as the responsibility of the portal of the church of Arronches (c. 1540) and the construction of the Chapel of Our Lady of Light, also in Arronches (1539) (Flor, 2004: 131-151;Bilou, 2016: 165-188). If not before, his link, as "carpinteiro de marcenaria", with Jean de Rouen, designated as "pedreiro de marcenaria", began in 1532 when Rouen showed up as guarantor in the contract where Francisco Lorete commits himself to make the organ box for the church of the Monastery of Santa Cruz (Garcia, 1913: 249-251).
The Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra (Fig. 4) is therefore the place where all these men met and the key that allows us to understand the relationship between them all.  (Garcia, 1913: 144-146), and for the first time as an architect in 1566 (Garcia, 1913: 32-35).
In 1549 he has work done in the church of Mercy in Coimbra, which implies the commitment to sculpture and architecture (altarpieces, chapels and a balcony) (Garcia, 1913: 196-197). In 1565 he had finished the chapel and altarpiece in the chapel of Tesoureiro for the church of S.
Domingos (Garcia, 1913: 75-85)  Europe (Dias, 1995: 62-63).    Adriana in Tivoli (Correia, 1946: 267). The recent reconstitutions of the designated Maritime Theater, which was serving as a rest house for the emperor, showed some proximity to the Fountain of Manga, especially regarding the crossing between the two geometrical shapes of circle and square (Adembri et al., 2017: 599-604), without dismissing other possibilities, always searching for the cosmic perfection. It is in the broad universe of references supporting this model that can be found a formal proximity, translated, for example, in the text and drawings of Filarete (Fig.   10). Not that it had arrived to Portugal by then. It is more like the expression of an idea abundantly Historiography had no doubts in attributing to Pero de Évora, Diogo Fernandes and Fernão Luís the work of the tanks, the four small towers and the 3 arches regarding to masonry, to Jerónimo Afonso the role of the stonework and to Jean de Rouen the altarpieces and other imaginary: Correia, 1946: 270;Gonçalves, 1947: 56-57;Dias, 1988: 208-210. The monastery Note Books record the payment of "seys colunas que estam nos cubelos da claustra nova scilicet a duzentos reais cada hua", to "Joham 4 de Ruão e a Jheronymo Aº cemto e setenta e seis mill e seiscemtos rreais por a obra que fizeram dos cubelos na crasta terceira da pedraria lavrada somente scilicet a Joham de Ruão cemto e corenta mill e seyscemtos rreais e a Jheronimo Aº trinta e seis myll reais": Coelho, 1984: 409, 420.   "torreões circulares de telhados cónicos como os das ermidas da fonte, detalhes construtivos de fossos e tanques como os usados no jardim, engenhos vários para pontes levadiças de fortalezas como os dos acessos móveis que terão existido nas ermidas, ou rebuscados mecanismos hidráulicos como aqueles que faziam brotar miraculosamente a água da fonte central" (Abreu, 1999: 157).
We go back to Gaillon: observing the famous drawing of Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau (Fig.   11, 12), there is a structure (maybe in stone and wood) in the middle of the garden with, in fact, the same ingredients of the Fountain of Manga.
Without surprises, the gardeners at Gaillon were also Italians who may have designed this centralized volume with four wings (Smith, 2003: 45-49). In addition to all other Though the current church is from a later period, the plan recovers the circular definition of the first one and integrates a round cloister (Abreu, 1999: 69-80) as Paulo Varela Gomes already said (Gomes, 2001: 84).
The several chapels with centralized plan, where he was involved or being attributed to him, develop a mystic significance tied to a production which integrates mathematics and geometry, but also a set of classical references that can be 76 digitAR -Revista Digital de Arqueologia, Arquitectura e Artes | número 7 (2020)  With Jean de Rouen and in the relation with his architectural background, it is not unusual to find the presence of small domes or temples that complete, balance and dignify the sculptural and architectural blocks. The most evident cases are located in altarpieces (Fig. 13, 14) where the 77 digitAR -Revista Digital de Arqueologia, Arquitectura e Artes | número 7 (2020)  (Fig. 15) that everything distributed across the inferior and superior universe is necessarily reduced to number, weight and measure (M. González, 1991: 33), actually quoting the biblical texts (Wisdom,11:20) and providing the indications of proportion between a sphere and a cube (M. González, 1991: 64-65 With a stronger certainty, the only chapel that survived and can be attributed to Jean de Rouen is the Sacramento chapel in Coimbra's Old Cathedral (Fig. 17). It shows a dome divided into 78 digitAR -Revista Digital de Arqueologia, Arquitectura e Artes | número 7 (2020)   (Cusa, 1988: 195 (Cusa, 1988: 190).

1400-1477), was translated and published in
Coimbra in 1533 (Fig. 24) and, from that moment on, literary sources made the ideals transported to sculpture and architecture much more consistent (Abreu, 2011: 33-52;Abreu et al., 2010: 369-393;Barreira, 2012: 231-239). In the last years in Portugal there are being recovered the great mentors able to stimulate that creative energy as an alternative to the decorum of the Catholic Reformation. In that place was also, and completely, Jean de Rouen.