Estêvão Roberto da Silva (1844? in
Rio de Janeiro – 9 November 1891, in Rio de Janeiro) was an
Afro-Brazilian painter and art teacher.
Life
His background is not known for certain, but his parents may have been slaves. He enrolled at the
Academia Imperial de Belas Artes
The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts ('' pt, Academia Imperial de Belas Artes'') was an institution of higher learning in the arts in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, established by King João VI. Despite facing many initial difficulties, the Academy was es ...
in 1864, where he studied with
Victor Meirelles and
Agostinho José da Mota
Agostinho José da Mota (18 June 1824 – 21 August 1878) was a Brazilian painter and teacher.
Biography
He was born in Rio de Janeiro. His inclination for art emerged early in childhood. In 1837 he enrolled in the Imperial Academy of Fine Art ...
, who inspired him to specialize in
still-life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...
s. In the 1880s, he became identified with the "Grupo Grimm", an association of disaffected artists that formed around the German-born painter
Georg Grimm
Johann Georg Grimm (1846–1887) was a German painter, designer and decorator who is best known for the work he produced during a lengthy stay in the Empire of Brazil.
Biography
He was the son of a successful carpenter and was initiall ...
, although he never actually broke with the Academy's teaching methods.
[Brief biography](_blank)
@ the Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural.
He was, however, involved in a protest concerning an award that he felt had been denied to him unjustly; a protest he made directly to Emperor
Pedro II during the award ceremony. As a result, he came before a disciplinary committee that found him guilty of contempt for school discipline. Luckily, they also determined that he had no malicious intent, so he was suspended for one year rather than being expelled.
Pitoresco
: excerpt from a book by Laudelino Freire that quotes the committee's decision. Despite this incident, he became the first Afro-Brazilian to graduate from the Academy and became a teacher at the "Liceu de Artes e Ofícios do Rio de Janeiro", where he remained until his death.
References
Further reading
* Gonzaga Duque
Luís Gonzaga Duque Estrada, known as Gonzaga Duque (21 June 1863, Rio de Janeiro - 29 September 1911, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian writer and critic. He was of Swedish descent on his father's side.
Life and work
After completing his primary ...
, ''A arte brasileira: pintura e esculptura'', H. Lombaerts & co., 1888.
External links
Cristina Pierre de França: "A pintura de Estevão Silva e sua relação com a brasilidade".
In: ''III Encontro de História da Arte'' - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (2007)
1844 births
1891 deaths
Brazilian still life painters
19th-century Brazilian painters
19th-century Brazilian male artists
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