João Zeferino da Costa (August 25, 1840 – August 24, 1915) was a Brazilian painter and designer.

Life and work

He began his studies in 1857 at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (AIBA) under the direction of

Victor Meirelles Victor Meirelles de Lima (18 August 1832 – 22 February 1903) was a Brazilian painter and teacher who is best known for his works relating to his nation's culture and history. From humble origins, his talent was soon recognized, being admitted as ...

.Itaú Cultural Enciclopédia
Brief biography and criticism. While there, he won several awards and was granted a fellowship to study in Europe. In 1869, he went to Rome and enrolled at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fi ...

, becoming a student of

Cesare Mariani Cesare Mariani (January 13, 1826 – February 21, 1901) was an Italian painter and architect of the late-19th century, active in Rome and Ascoli Piceno. Early life and training He was born in Rome to Pietro and Maria Agnelletti; his father worked ...

. He studied there for three years, winning several more awards, which allowed him to extend his visit for a few more years.Pintoresco:
Brief biography

August 1, 2016) Some of his best-known paintings were done during this period. When he returned to Brazil in 1877, he temporarily replaced Meirelles as the Professor of history painting at AIBA; although his primary position was as a teacher of landscapes, nude figure painting and design at the

Escola Nacional de Belas Artes Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times. A royal letter of Nov 20 1800 by John VI of Portugal established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e Fig ...

(ENBA). Among his best-known students there were

Rodolfo Amoedo Rodolfo Amoedo (11 December 1857 – 31 May 1941) was a Brazilian painter, designer and decorator. Biography His interest in art and decoration began when a family friend (who was a lyricist) invited him to do work on the now defunct Teatro Sã ...

Henrique Bernardelli Henrique Bernardelli (15 July 1857 – 6 April 1936) was a Brazilian painter. Life and Works Henrique Bernardelli was born in Valparaiso, Chile. He was the brother of sculptor Rodolfo, and painter and violinist Félix. In 1865 he moved with ...

, Lucílio de Albuquerque and Giovanni Battista Castagneto. In 1880, Emperor Pedro II (who was impressed by Costa's Italian education) commissioned him to paint murals in

Candelária Church The Candelária Church ( pt, Igreja da Candelária, ) is an important historical Roman Catholic church in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil. It was built and decorated during a long period, from 1775 to the late 19th century. The ...

which, after a brief trip to Rome for inspiration, were done in collaboration with his students. His rendering of the Virgin Mary surrounded by the Seven Virtues is considered to be his masterpiece. Later, his works at the General Exhibition of Fine Arts were heavily criticized by Gonzaga Duque, Brazil's first art historian. As a result, he never exhibited publicly again. In 1890, he became a deputy director at ENBA. Two years before his death, he was called upon to help restore his murals (already in poor condition after only thirty years), but his hands were so badly twisted by rheumatism that other painters had to be employed to do the work. He wrote a book, ''Mecanismos e proporções da figura humana'' (Mechanisms and Proportions of the Human Figure), which was published the year after his death and presents the essence of his artistic credo.

Selected paintings

João Zeferino da Costa - Moisés recebendo as tábuas da lei - 1868.jpg, Moses Receiving the Law (1868) João Zeferino da Costa - O óbolo da viúva, 1876.jpg,

Lesson of the Widow's Mite The lesson of the widow's mite or the widow's offering is presented in the Synoptic Gospels (, ), in which Jesus is teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Gospel of Mark specifies that two ''mites'' (Greek ''lepta'') are together worth a ''qu ...

(1876) João Zeferino da Costa - A Caridade.jpg, Charity (1872) João Zeferino da Costa - São João Batista, 1873.jpg, Saint John the Baptist (1873)

References

External links

''Mecanismos e proporções da figura humana''
full text online @ DezenoveVinte {{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Joao Zeferino Da 1840 births 1916 deaths People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Religious artists 19th-century Brazilian painters 19th-century Brazilian male artists 20th-century Brazilian painters 20th-century Brazilian male artists Catholic painters

Life and work

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links