Alfredo Ceschiatti (September 1, 1918 – August 25, 1989) was a Brazilian sculptor.

Life and career

Ceschiatti was born in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

in 1918 to Italian parents. He went to Italy in 1937, benefited by the Italian government in promoting trips by the children of immigrants to the country. Back to Brazil, he settled in Rio de Janeiro where he studied at the National School of Fine Arts. He was awarded at the National Salon of Fine Arts, in 1945, for the bas-relief of the baptistery of the

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi (''Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assis'', commonly known as the ''Igreja da Pampulha'') is a chapel in Pampulha region of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It was designed by t ...

, in Belo Horizonte. He met

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

, who commissioned him a sculpture for the Architectural Ensemble of Pampulha, in Belo Horizonte. Ceschiatti created ''O Abraço'', a sculpture depicting two embraced women. The citizens of Belo Horizonte considered immoral, it was kept for many years until it was finally exposed in a garden in Pampulha. The sculpture ''Duas Amigas'' was made for the Salão Nobre (upper garden) of the Itamaraty Palace with guidance from Ambassador Wladimir Murtinho, who served as chief curator in the Palace's ambience project. The artist's taste for the female figure is present in several of his works. In 1960 he sculpted, in granite, ''As três forças armadas'', one of the themes in the

Monument to the Dead of World War II The Monument to the Dead of World War II ( pt, Monumento Nacional aos Mortos da Segunda Guerra Mundial), also the Monument to the Brazilian Soldiers of World War II, commemorates Brazil's participation and losses in the Second World War (WWII). ...

, in Rio de Janeiro. His works are in exhibition in several Brazilian museums. In a new partnership with Niemeyer, he became the main sculptor of the country's new capital

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, including: * ''As Iaras'', in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, at the

Palácio da Alvorada The Palácio da Alvorada () is the official residence of the President of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília, on a peninsula at the margins of Paranoá Lake. The building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and built between 19 ...

's reflecting pool; * ''Leda e o Cisne'', bronze, at

Palácio do Jaburu The Jabiru's Palace () is the official residence of the Vice President of Brazil. The building was designed, along with the rest of the city of Brasília, by Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated in 1977. It is located near the Palácio da Alvorada in Br ...

's courtyard; * ''A Justiça'', in granite, in front of the

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

building; * ''Os Anjos'' and ''Os Evangelistas'', in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasília; *
As gêmeas
', in bronze, at the

Itamaraty Palace The Itamaraty Palace (), also known as the Palace of the Arches (''Palácio dos Arcos''), is the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília. The building was designed by architect ...

; * ''Anjo'', in golden bronze at the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

; * ''A Contorcionista'', in the Sala Villa Lobos foyer, Cláudio Santoro National Theater * Deusa Athena, at the

University of Brasília The University of Brasília ( pt, Universidade de Brasília, UnB) is a federal public university in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. It was founded in 1960 and has since consistently been named among the top five Brazilian universities and the ...

's Central Library; He was part of the National Commission of Fine Arts and professor of sculpture and drawing at the

. He then resigned in solidarity with colleagues persecuted for political reasons. He complained, decades later, about the way Brasília treated his works.

Gallery

File:Alfredo Ceschiatti - As Irmãs, 1966-fund. 2001 .jpg, ''As Irmãs (The Sisters),'' 1966. File:A Justica Alfredo Ceschiatti Brasilia Brasil.jpg, ''A Justiça (The Justice),'' in front of the

building. File:Alfredo Ceschiatti - Monumento a José Bonifácio.JPG, ''Monument to

José Bonifácio José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

,'' at Praça do Patriarca, São Paulo. File:A Contorcionista 3.jpg, ''A Contorcionista'' ''(The contortionist)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceschiatti, Alfredo 1918 births 1989 deaths Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian sculptors People from Belo Horizonte Brazilian expatriates in Italy