José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (8 May 1850 – 13 November 1899), commonly known as Almeida Júnior, was a Brazilian artist and designer; one of the first there to paint in the Realistic tradition of

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

and

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...

. The "Dia do Artista Plástico" (Day of Fine Artists in Brazil) is celebrated on his birthday.

Early life and education

Almeida Júnior - Reading - Google Art Project

He was born in

Itu The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...

. His art career began while he was working as a bell-ringer at the Church of Our Lady of Candelária in his native town. Some small works Júnior created on religious themes impressed the head priest enough to hold a fundraiser for him so he could go to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

for formal art lessons.Brief biography
@ Pitoresco. In 1869, 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 e ...

(Imperial Academy of Fine Arts), where he studied with

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 ...

and Pedro Américo. His simple country speech and manners made him stick out among the rest of the students, who were all from more urban areas. After graduating, he chose not to compete for a travel award to Europe, instead returning to Itu and setting up a studio there.Brief biography
@ the Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural. During a tour of the São Paulo region in 1876, Emperor Pedro II saw Júnior's work and liked it. He personally offered Júnior his financial support. Later that year, Pedro II's royal decree awarded Júnior 300

franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

s per month for the purpose of studying in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. He soon settled in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

and enrolled at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

, becoming one of the many students of

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. According to ''Diccionario Enciclopedi ...

. While there, he participated in four of the Salons.

Career

He remained in Paris until 1882. Then, after a brief trip to Italy, he returned to Brazil and exhibited the works he had created during his absence. In 1883, he opened a studio in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

and taught art privately. He also held exclusive art exhibitions and fulfilled commissions for portraits of notable people ranging from coffee barons to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politicians. In 1884, he held a showing at the ''Exposição Geral de Belas Artes'' and was made a knight of the Order of the Rose. A year later, Victor Meirelles, wanting to retire, offered Júnior his position as professor of history painting at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but Júnior refused the offer because he preferred to stay in São Paulo. From 1887 to 1896, he made three more trips to Europe. He increasingly rejected Biblical and historical subjects in favor of regionalist themes, depicting the everyday life of the ''

caipira A Caipira () is an ethnic group native to Paulistânia, cultural area in Brazil, the term "''caipira''", of origin in the Paulista General language, probably influenced by the terms "''kai'pira''", "''ka'apir''", "''ka'a pora''" or "''kopira'' ...

s'' while moving from

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

style to Naturalism. Despite these changes, his reputation at the Imperial Academy remained unchallenged, and he received its Gold Medal in 1898.

Death

Júnior was stabbed to death in 1899 by his cousin José de Almeida Sampaio in Piracicaba in front of the Hotel Central. Júnior had been having a long-standing

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

with Sampaio's wife, Maria Laura do Amaral Gurgel, who had briefly been engaged to Júnior, and Sampaio had just found out about it.

Selected paintings

File:El bautismo de Jesús, por José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior.jpg, ''Baptism of Christ'' (1895) File:Almeida_Júnior_-_Saudade_(Longing)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, ''Saudade (Longing)'' (1899) File:Almeida Júnior - The Inopportune - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Inopportune'' (1898) File:Almeida Júnior - Study for "Flight of the Holy Family to Egypt" - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Study for "Flight of the Holy Family to Egypt"'' (1881) File:Almeida Júnior - Interrupted Whetting - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Interrupted Whetting'' (1894) File:Almeida Júnior - Votorantim Waterfall - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Votorantim Waterfall'' File:Descanso do modelo.jpg, ''Descanso do Modelo (Model's Rest)'' File:Almeida Júnior - The Guitar Player - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Guitar Player'' File:Almeida Júnior - Study for "Departure of the Monção" - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Study for "Departure of the Monção"'' File:Almeida Júnior - O pintor.jpg, ''A Painter''

References

External links