Rock art
Long before the arrival of explorers, Amerindian peoples practiced an art form that differed from European codes. The main media for painting were the human body, ceramics and cave walls.
A French archaeological mission has been working in Minas Gerais for some fifty years. It is supported by the Brazilian Indigenous Arts Cultural Center in Tiradentes. Analysis of the rock art on the thousands of sites in the region reveals a great diversity of styles and themes. Colored pigments and facies rendering vary from place to place. In the center, animal figures tend to be monochrome, while bichrome geometric forms are more common in the south. In the state of Minas Gerais, the 30-centimeter petroglyphs discovered in the Lapa do Santo shelter are the oldest in the country (8,000 years old).
Emergence of Brazilian painting
Art as we know it arrived with the first Europeans. Explorers surrounded themselves with artists charged with documenting new lands. Usually using watercolours, these artists recorded the flora and fauna, as well as the population and its activities, in registers. These illustrations were bound and began to be distributed from 1557 with the book by Père André Thevet. Portraits and landscapes are imbued with mannerism, and are Brazilian in theme only.
In the 17th century, following the Dutch invasion of the Nordeste, Flemish painters travelled to Brazil. Frans Post, the most famous, produced a series of paintings in the Dutch landscape tradition, depicting the region's flora and fauna. In addition to its aesthetic beauty, his work has historical value.
Baroque art
At the beginning of the 18th century, the European Baroque style infused Brazilian painting with local influences. The codes of this style, which had become major in Brazil, namely sentiment, drama and a taste for opulence, predisposed it to convey the message of the Catholic Church. Very few works are signed. Brazilian Baroque art is exceptional for its wide distribution and its duration of almost three centuries. It owes its originality to the diversity of its builders (Indians, Africans, Portuguese) and the variety of materials available. Unlike the Spaniards, who discovered Aztec and Inca buildings in Mexico, Bolivia and Peru, Portuguese sculptors found neither stone nor builders when they arrived on the Brazilian coast.
The plans for the buildings, and sometimes even the stones, such as those for São Salvador de Bahia Cathedral, came from Europe. These rather massive churches are close to Portuguese simplicity, with their quadrangular shapes, sculpture-free facades and severe lines inspired by the aesthetics of the Italian Counter-Reformation. Yet this compact form gives the buildings an airy air. Baroque, in contrast to the flat, linear Renaissance style, makes use of optical illusion, inventing the third dimension and aiming for a global, living form.
Even before the Rococo period, this poetic simplicity and pared-down exterior was countered by an aesthetic of profusion and excessive richness of interior decoration. This appeared in the talha - woodcarving - of the Jesuits in Bahia, in 1670, and then of the Franciscans in Recife, around 1700: bubbling rockeries, golden foam, crowns, shells, roses, sunflowers, inextricable plant interlacing, broken rosaries of cherubs frolicking in the clouds. In the first half of the eighteenth century, this opposition became more pronounced.
The large, recently discovered gold mines of Minas Gerais were put to good use. The church designed and sculpted by Manuel Francisco Lisboa, known as Aleijadinho, in Ouro Preto (1727), and decorated by his friend the painter Ataíde, remained balanced. But the churches of São Pedro dos Clérigos in Recife (1728) and Capela Dourada, Bahia Cathedral and the monastery of São Bento in Rio de Janeiro were, in the words of Victor L. Tapié, "caves of gold designed to capture the imagination of the Indians". As the focal point of the gold rush, Ouro Preto had a special destiny in the 18th century. In the many places of worship, perspective was introduced. It was an invitation to all manner of exuberance. The colorful decorations thus integrated into the architecture overflowed their framework, in the manner of rococo. Manuel da Costa Ataíde (1762-1830), sculptor and painter, left a major body of work throughout the region. One of his best-known paintings, the Glorification of the Virgin, can be seen at theIgreja de São Francisco de Assis in Ouro Preto (painted on wood between 1801 and 1812).
To this decorative fantasy, José Soares de Araujo imposed a rigorous style on Diamantina, supported by a dark palette.
During the second half of the eighteenth century, this profusion also invaded the exterior of buildings, such as the magnificent and senseless facade of Salvador's Terceiro Ordem. At the same time, overall plans evolved towards less rigid forms, but were not lacking in sobriety and cohesion: the irregularity of the Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos in Congonhas, the undulating sides of the nave of the Igreja São Francisco de Assis, in São João del-Rei, domed facades, wedge-shaped towers with domes and bells, plans combining ellipses and polygons.. These trends can be seen at the Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, the Franciscan Third Order church built by Aleijadinho in Ouro Preto. Better than his colleagues in Salvador, the sculptor was able to master the profusion of interior decorations.
Romanticism
The French were the inspirers of a romantic, academic Brazilian style of painting, in which the exuberance of nature and light played a predominant role. In 1816, the "French artistic mission", led by Joaquim Lebreton, brought in painters such as Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, Jean-Baptiste Debret and François-René Moreaux. Emperor Don João VI, a great lover of art, was behind this initiative on his return from Portugal, but he clashed with the supporters of the Baroque tradition. In the second half of the 19th century, the new Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (AIBA) created in Rio in 1826 gave rise to a painting scene unique to the country. Rio established itself as the center of Brazilian academicism.
Talented artists such as Victor Meirelles(Panorama de Rio, 1890) and Pedro Americo(Batalha de Avai, 1879) joined the collection of Rio's Museu Nacional de Belas Artes - MNBA , Brazil's largest museum. Brazilian art occupies a major place in its extensive collection of 19th-century works. Temporary exhibitions raise awareness of contemporary local art.
Modernism
The modernist wave that shook Europe in the 1920s reached Brazil, and São Paulo in particular. Futurism, Dadaism and Cubism were revisited by Brazilian artists through the prism of their own culture. The first São Paulo Biennial took place in 1951. Abstract art and the avant-garde were finally given a broad platform for dissemination. The event was decisive for the evolution of Brazilian painting.
The cultural effervescence of São Paulo was contrasted with the more traditional atmosphere of Rio. The capital has finally caught up. This is reflected in the opening of the Museo de Arte Moderna - MAM in the heart of Flamengo Park. Its three floors are devoted to Brazilian and international modern art. On display are paintings by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti and Tarsila do Amaral, as well as local photographers such as Alair Gomes, born in 1921, and his astonishing series of black-and-white male nudes, captured in almost dance-like movements; and Claudia Andujar, a Brazilian photographer born in Switzerland in 1931, known for her support of the indigenous Yanomami people.
The Bay of Rio has inspired painters and photographers since the mid-19th century. In photography, the pioneering Marc Ferrez, born in Rio de Janeiro in 1843, documented the daily life of the young Brazilian nation.
Contemporary art
1984 saw the official return of painting with the exhibition Onde está você, geração 80? (Where are you, 1980s generation?). It brought together 123 artists in Rio de Janeiro, most of them beginners, who renewed the vision of painting.
The Museu de Arte Contemporânea - MAC, located in Niterói, boasts a rich collection of contemporary Brazilian artists. A recent museum, the Museu de Arte do Rio - MAR, offers temporary collections of contemporary art and photography. Near Belo Horizonte, in Brumadinho, contemporary art enthusiasts can experience the magnificent Inhotim botanical garden, home to theInhotim Institute. In this unique setting, open-air art dialogues with luxuriant nature. Alongside international stars, you'll find some of the biggest names in Brazilian contemporary art. These include Adriana Varejão, born in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, who is bringing traditional techniques such as azulejos back into fashion, and the celebrated sculptor and performer Tunga (Antonio José de Barros Carvalho, born in 1952 and died in 2016), known for his enigmatic works, a cross between existential questioning and surrealism.
Among the figures of contemporary art, the painter and sculptor Hélio Oiticica is the pioneer of concrete art in Brazil. Oiticica died at the age of 43 in 1980, but left behind an important body of work, respected by international critics. A major figure in the Tropicalia movement of the late 1960s, he advocated the blending of the arts. His installations, intended to be abstract and popular, recall his Brazilian roots.
Today, the work of visual artist Christina Oiticica (wife of writer Paulo Coelho) is rooted in an archaeological and naturalistic quest. Sensitive to the environment, she integrates organic elements into her creations. Her canvases form a bridge between past and present.
Street-art
Even more so in Rio than elsewhere, street art is exploding all over the country.
Brazilians differentiate between tagging or " pichação ", seen as an act of rebellion, and " grafite ", which is an artistic process. Since 2009, the Brazilian government has legalized the practice of street art, subject to the owner's agreement. It must also "beautify". Street art is a statement of popular values. Whatever its message, the mural remains colorful and passionate. However, there is a growing number of initiatives in favor of thoughtful, high-quality art. The most significant of these are the street art festivals, which bring together artists from all over the world.
In the streets of Rio, keep an eye out for this anthology of great Brazilian signatures. Rafaela Monteiro aka Rafa Mon comes straight from the world of fashion. Her frescoes have a dreamlike, poetic tone. The world-famous Eduardo Kobra expresses his art in monumental frescoes with a realistic bent. Originally from the suburbs of São Paulo, he adds to his colorful compositions the kaleidoscopic effects for which he is renowned. In addition to exhibiting in Paris, Spain and Argentina, Marcelo Eco scatters works all over Rio. He likes to reproduce in a graphic style the portrait of a moustachioed man with a pointed chin, who could be Salvador Dali. In any case, you'll find him all over Rio de Janeiro, especially on Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana.
Urban art in Belo Horizonte
Thiago Mazza, born in Belo Horizonte in 1984, took his first steps as a graffiti artist in his hometown. His frescoes, which offer a dialogue between classical and modernist references, quickly propelled him to the forefront of contemporary muralism. His work can be seen at urban art festivals across the country, including CURA in Belo Horizonte. As an extension to the event, the CURA association is offering an urban art trail throughout the city.
Rio, between art and history
In Rio, the walls of the Botanical Gardens and the metro are famous for their frescoes. Here are a few other ideas to guide you as you stroll through the city. The tramway fresco in Santa Teresa is a reminder of the place once held by this means of locomotion in the daily lives of the city's inhabitants. The Botafogo district is not only rich in street art, but also brings together artists who are more interested in form than content. Here, far from political messages and reminders of reality, an abundance of colorful nuggets embellish the urban environment just for the fun of it.
In contrast, the works at Centro revive memories of historical events, from rural life to slavery. This is where you'll find the world's largest mural: Eduardo Kobra created a commission in the center for the Olympic Games on the theme of indigenous tribes and the five continents. Recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records! In the chic, trendy district of Ipanema, anonymous graffiti artist Oraculo Project spreads love through stencilled messages scattered across the floor. In English and Portuguese. The same artist colors tree trunks red to raise awareness of forest destruction. The 2014 World Cup was the subject of countless expressions of popular dissent. Alongside the uprisings of the population, these visual messages continue to haunt the streets. When news is read on walls..
