André Soares Ribeiro da Silva, more commonly known as André Soares (1720 – 1769) was a leading Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

 sculptor and architect active in Northern Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 during the 18th century.

Born in Braga

Braga

Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...

, most of his work is found in and around this city. As a sculptor, he was responsible for designing the gilt woodwork (talha dourada) altarpiece

Altarpiece

An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

s of the Monastery of Tibães

Monastery of Tibães

The Monastery of St Martin of Tibães is a monastery situated in the parish of Mire de Tibães, near Braga, in northern Portugal. It was the mother house of the Benedictine order in Portugal and Brazil, and it is known for the exuberant Rococo decoration of its church.-History:The first information...

. Outside Braga, his work as an architect include the audacious Falperra Church

Falperra Church

Falperra Church or the Church of Santa Maria Madalena is a rococo church located in the Falperra mountains, outside of Braga, Portugal....

 (with a heptagonal floorplan), the Church of Nosso Senhor dos Santos Passos in Guimarães

Guimarães

Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...

 and the Church of Our Lady of Lapa in Arcos de Valdevez

Arcos de Valdevez

Arcos de Valdevez is a municipality along the northern frontier of Portugal and Galicia , that incorporates a territory of 447.6 km² and a total population of 24,466 inhabitants...

, while in Braga he designed the Braga Town Hall

Braga Town Hall

The Braga Town Hall is a landmark building located in Sé parish in the heart of Braga, Portugal. In there is located the headquarters of the Câmara Municipal, the city local government....

, the Palácio do Raio, the Congregados Church

Congregados Church

The Congregados Basilica in Portuguese, Igreja dos Congregados is a Portuguese 18th-century baroque Basilica in Braga, Portugal.The church, a project from the architect André Soares, is flanked on the top by two bell towers, one of which finished is the 60s of the 20th century....

, the Arco da Porta Nova

Arco da Porta Nova

The Arco da Porta Nova , is a Baroque and Neoclassical arch, designed by André Soares in the late 18th century, in the civil parish of Sé, municipality of Braga, in northern Portugal...

 (City Gate) among many other structures.

The work of André Soares is characterised by the exuberant decoration and the use of Rococo

Rococo

Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

forms influenced by contemporary Northern European art.