# Law No. 5984 of December 12, 1973

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105659923](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105659923)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-5984-of-december-12-1973

## Summary
Law No. 5984 of December 12, 1973 is a Brazilian federal statute that formally declares Antônio Francisco Lisboa, historically known as "O Aleijadinho," as the patron of art in Brazil. Enacted under the presidency of Emílio Garrastazu Médici, this law serves as an official state recognition of the 18th-century artist's foundational contribution to the nation's cultural heritage.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 5984, de 12 de dezembro de 1973
- **Common Alias:** Lei nº 5984, de 12 de dezembro de 1973
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 5984/1973
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-12;5984
- **Publication Date:** December 12, 1973
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília
- **Enacting Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **President at Enactment:** Emílio Garrastazu Médici
- **Enactment Method:** Promulgation
- **Core Declaration:** Declares Antônio Francisco Lisboa ("O Aleijadinho") as the patron of art in Brazil.
- **Instance Of:** Statute (a formal written document that creates law)
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Full Text URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l5984.htm
- **Wikimedia Focus:** Listed on WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs
**What is the primary purpose of Law No. 5984?**
The law's sole purpose is to officially declare Antônio Francisco Lisboa, known as "O Aleijadinho," as the patron of art in Brazil. This is a formal state recognition of his historical and cultural significance as an 18th-century artist and architect.

**Who was the head of state when this law was enacted?**
The law was enacted under the presidency of Emílio Garrastazu Médici, who served as President of Brazil from 1969 to 1974. The law was promulgated on December 12, 1973, during his administration.

**How should this law be formally cited in legal or academic contexts?**
The standard legal citation for this statute is "Lei nº 5984/1973." This format follows Brazilian legal convention, combining the law number with the year of enactment.

**Where can the complete, official text of the law be accessed?**
The full text is available at the official Brazilian government portal: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l5984.htm. This URL is provided in the law's authoritative metadata.

**What is the legal classification of this document?**
This document is classified as a statute. A statute is a formal written document that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws. It is the tangible manifestation of statutory law within a jurisdiction.

**To which geographical entity does this law apply?**
This law applies to the jurisdiction of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It is a federal statute, meaning it holds authority across the entire national territory.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 5984 matters as a concrete act of national cultural canonization. By legislatively declaring "O Aleijadinho" as the patron of art, the Brazilian state formally inscribed a specific historical figure into the nation's official symbolic heritage. This action elevates Aleijadinho's legacy, influencing educational curricula, cultural policy, public monuments, and national narratives about artistic identity. It transforms historical appreciation into a legal mandate, ensuring state-level recognition and promotion of his contributions. Such a law shapes collective memory and provides a definitive reference point for institutions, scholars, and citizens regarding Brazil's artistic patrimony. It exemplifies how statutory law can be used to affirm cultural values and historical priorities, impacting everything from museum exhibitions to the naming of public spaces. The law's enduring relevance lies in its role as the authoritative legal basis for honoring one of Brazil's most significant colonial-era artists.

## Notable For
- **Specific Cultural Designation:** It is a law solely dedicated to conferring the honorary title of "patron of art" upon a specific individual.
- **Historical Figure:** It focuses on Antônio Francisco Lisboa ("O Aleijadinho"), a pivotal sculptor and architect from the Brazilian colonial period (c. 1730–1814).
- **Federal Statute:** It is a federal law (lei federal), enacted by the national Congress and sanctioned by the Presidency, not a state or municipal ordinance.
- **Era of Enactment:** It originates from the period of military government in Brazil (1964–1985), specifically during the presidency of Emílio Garrastazu Médici.
- **Concise Form:** The law is exceptionally brief, consisting of a single declarative article, making its purpose unambiguous.
- **Cultural Heritage Instrument:** It serves as a legal instrument for the definition and promotion of national cultural heritage.
- **Official Recognition:** It provides the highest level of state recognition for an artist within the Brazilian legal framework.

## Body

### Legal Identification and Metadata
Law No. 5984 of December 12, 1973, is formally titled "Lei nº 5984, de 12 de dezembro de 1973." This title serves as its primary identifier in official Brazilian legal compilations. The law is commonly cited in legal and academic discourse using the abbreviated form "Lei nº 5984/1973." For structured data and digital archiving within Brazil's LexML system, it is uniquely identified by the URN "urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-12;5984." The law's publication date is definitively recorded as December 12, 1973, and its place of publication is Brasília, the federal capital. The Wikidata description for this entity is simply "Brazilian law," situating it within the broad category of national legislation.

### Content and Legislative Purpose
The substantive content of the law is captured in its digest: "DECLARA ANTONIO FRANCISCO LISBOA -'O ALEIJADINHO' - PATRONO DA ARTE NO BRASIL." This single sentence constitutes the entire operative part of the statute. Its purpose is purely declarative and honorary. It does not create new rights, obligations, or regulatory frameworks. Instead, it performs a symbolic and constitutive act: it officially names Antônio Francisco Lisboa, universally known by his nickname "O Aleijadinho," as the "Patrono da Arte no Brasil" (Patron of Art in Brazil). This designation is a formal acknowledgment by the Brazilian state of Aleijadinho's preeminent status in the history of Brazilian art and architecture.

### Enactment and Institutional Authority
The law was enacted through the standard federal legislative process of Brazil. It was approved and sanctioned by the "Presidência da República Federativa do Brasil" (Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil). The specific head of state at the time of promulgation was President Emílio Garrastazu Médici. The method of enactment is specified as "promulgation" (promulgação), which is the formal act by which the head of state, after a bill's passage through the legislature, declares it to be law. The promulgation occurred on the same date as the publication: December 12, 1973. This places the law squarely within the administrative timeline of Médici's government.

### Jurisdictional and Linguistic Scope
As a federal statute of Brazil, the law's jurisdictional scope is the entire territory of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It applies uniformly across all 26 states and the Federal District. The language of the work, as recorded in its authoritative metadata, is Brazilian Portuguese ("Português do Brasil"). This is the official language of the law's text and the language in which its legal effect is expressed and interpreted within the Brazilian legal system.

### Digital Access and Documentation
The complete, official text of Law No. 5984/1973 is made publicly available by the Brazilian federal government on the official legislation portal of the Presidency ("legislacao.presidencia.gov.br") and the consolidated civil code portal ("planalto.gov.br"). The direct URL for access is https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l5984.htm. Within the collaborative knowledge ecosystem of Wikimedia, this law is explicitly listed on the focus list of "WikiProject Brazilian Laws." This indicates its inclusion in a dedicated community effort to improve the coverage and quality of Brazilian legal content on Wikipedia and related projects.

### Classification as a Statute
Law No. 5984 is an **instance of** the class "statute." A statute is defined as a formal written document that creates law. This class encompasses a broad range of legal instruments, including acts passed by a legislature (like this law), executive orders, and by-laws. As a statute, this law is the physical and formal manifestation of a "legal norm" within the Brazilian system of statutory law ("direito estatutário"). Its creation was caused by the legislative act of the National Congress and subsequent presidential sanction. Structurally, it is classified as a subclass of both "written work" and "document" in knowledge organization systems. Its primary function is to serve as the official, authoritative record of a rule enacted by the Brazilian government. In semantic web standards like Schema.org, the concept of a statute is equivalent to the class `Legislation`. In library science, statutes are cataloged under classifications such as Dewey Decimal 342.057 (constitutional law) and 348.02 (statutory law), and assigned authority IDs like the Library of Congress's sh85127611. This classification underscores that Law No. 5984 is not an abstract concept but a concrete, citable legal document within a global framework for organizing legal information.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-12;5984)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=5984&ano=1973&data=12/12/1973&ato=516ATVq5EenRVT871)
3. LexML Brasil