Manuel José de Araújo Porto-Alegre, Baron of Santo Ângelo (29 November 1806 – 30 December 1879), was a Brazilian Romantic writer, painter, architect, diplomat and professor, considered to be one of the first Brazilian

editorial cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...

s ever. He is the patron of the 32nd chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

Life

Porto-Alegre was born Manuel José de Araújo in

Rio Pardo Rio Pardo is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with ove ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

, to Francisco José de Araújo and Francisca Antônia Viana. He would change his name to Manuel de Araújo Pitangueira during the

independence of Brazil The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurr ...

, citing nativist reasons. Later on, he finally changed it to Manuel de Araújo Porto-Alegre. In 1826, he moved 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 ...

, in order to study painting with

Jean-Baptiste Debret Jean-Baptiste Debret (; 18 April 1768 – 28 June 1848) was a French painter, who produced many valuable lithographs depicting the people of Brazil. Debret won the second prize at the 1798 Salon des Beaux Arts. Biography Debret studied at th ...

at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. He also studied at what is now the

Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras The ''Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras'' (AMAN, en, Military Academy of Agulhas Negras - named after the Agulhas Negras summit) is the biggest among several schools of formation of combatant officers of the Brazilian Army. It originated in ...

and took a medicine course and philosophy. In 1831, he left Brazil along with Debret to Europe, in order to improve his painting techniques. In 1835, he went to Italy, where he met Gonçalves de Magalhães, another Brazilian poet. Porto-Alegre and Magalhães would create in France, in the year of 1837, a short-lived magazine named ''

Niterói Niterói (, ) is a municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro in the southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the state capital, ...

'', alongside Francisco de Sales Torres Homem. Also in 1837, he became

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

teacher at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, in a post that would last until 1848, when he became a drawing teacher at the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras, and started doing his first caricatures. In 1838, he married Ana Paulina Delamare, having two children with her: Carlota Porto-Alegre (the future wife of painter

Pedro Américo Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo (29 April 1843 – 7 October 1905) was a Brazilian novelist, poet, scientist, art theorist, essayist, philosopher, politician and professor, but is best remembered as one of the most important academic painters ...

) and future diplomat Paulo Porto-Alegre. In 1840 he was named the official painter and decorator of emperor Pedro II's palace. He decorated the imperial palace in Petrópolis, the wedding of Pedro II with Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies and the emperor's coronation. He was decorated with the Order of Christ and the

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose ( pt, Imperial Ordem da Rosa) was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was can ...

. Reuniting with Gonçalves de Magalhães and Torres Homem, he founded a periodic named ''Minerva Brasiliense'', that lasted from 1843 to 1845. He would publish in this periodic his poem ''Brasiliana''. In 1844, alongside Torres Homem, he founded the humoristic magazine ''Lanterna Mágica'', where he published his caricatures. In 1849, Porto-Alegre founded the magazine ''Guanabara'', alongside

Joaquim Manuel de Macedo Joaquim Manuel de Macedo (June 24, 1820 – May 11, 1882) was a Brazilian novelist, doctor, teacher, poet, playwright and journalist, famous for the romance '' A Moreninha''. He is the patron of the 20th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters ...

and

Gonçalves Dias Antônio Gonçalves Dias (; August 10, 1823November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright, ethnographer, lawyer and linguist. A major exponent of Brazilian Romanticism and of the literary tradition known as " Indianism", he is ...

. The magazine, considered the official journal of the Romantic movement in Brazil, lasted until 1856. In 1852, he entered the political career, assuming a position as a substitute councilman in the

Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro The Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro is the unicameral legislative body of the city of 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-m ...

, lending service in the areas of

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and ...

and public health. He exercised this post until 1854, the year when he became the headmaster of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, lasting until 1857. In 1860, Porto-Alegre entered the diplomatic career, where he served as the consul of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Sax ...

and later in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, where he died. (Porto-Alegre's remains were brought to Brazil in 1922.) He was granted the title of Baron of Santo Ângelo by emperor Pedro II in 1874, and was a member of the

Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute The Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute ( pt, Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro), IHGB, founded on 21 October 1838, is the oldest and traditional authority to promote research and preservation of historical and geographical, cu ...

Spiritism

While in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in 1865, Porto-Alegre wrote a letter to Joaquim Manuel de Macedo, then-tutor of Princess Isabel's children, in which he reveals that he became a Spiritist and was able to

psychograph The psychograph was a phrenology machine, invented and marketed by Henry C. Lavery in the early part of the 20th century. The psychograph claimed to mechanically discern a subject's aptitudes in a number of mental faculties. It was designed t ...

messages from the Underworld, and Isabel would ask him "who was erguardian spirit". The letter, now being kept at the

Brazilian National Archives The National Archives of Brazil ( pt, Arquivo Nacional, AN) were created in 1838 as the Imperial Public Archives. The Archives were renamed in 1911, and are located in Rio de Janeiro. The National Archives of Brazil is the Brazilian institution r ...

, has 12 pages.''Além da Vida'' magazine, 30th edition. Brazilian National Archives, Rio de Janeiro.

Literary works

Poetry

* ''Ode Sáfica'' (1830 — dedicated to

) * ''Canto Inaugural'' (1855) * ''Brasiliana'' (1863) * ''Colombo'' (epic poem — 1866)

Theater plays

* ''Prólogo Dramático'' (1837) * ''Angélica e Firmino'' (1845) * ''A Destruição das Florestas'' (1845) * ''A Estátua Amazônica'' (1851) * ''A Restauração de Pernambuco'' (1852) * ''A Noite de São João'' (1857) * ''Cenas de Penafiel'' (1858) * ''Os Judas'' (1859) * ''O Prestígio da Lei'' (1859) * ''Os Lobisomens'' (1862) * ''Os Voluntários da Pátria'' (1877)

Fiction

* ''Excertos das Memórias e Viagens do Coronel Bonifácio do Amarante'' (under pen name Tibúrcio do Amarante) (1848)

Translations

* ''

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

* '' Lucrèce Borgia'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

* ''Christine of Sweden'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

Famous paintings

File:Araujo-dpedroI-MHN.jpg, ''Portrait of

Pedro I of Brazil Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal, where he also becam ...

'',

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...

File:Araujo10.jpg, ''Brazilian Jungle'',

watercolor painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

File:00565-Araujo-Porto-Alegre--.jpg, ''Study for a Decorative Panel'', oil and nankeen File:Araujo02.jpg, ''Pietà'' File:Manuel de Araújo Porto-alegre - estudo para a sagração de Dom Pedro II - c. 1840.jpg, ''Study for Pedro II's Sagration'', oil painting File:Araujo05.jpg, ''Self-portrait'', oil painting; circa 1823 File:1837 first caricature in Brazil - Regency.png, This caricature that satirizes the Regency period of the Empire of Brazil (1831–1840) was made by Porto-Alegre, and is considered to be the first Brazilian

editorial cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine a ...

ever

References

External links

Excerpts of Porto-alegre's epic poem ''Colombo'' at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

* ttp://www.itaucultural.org.br/aplicexternas/enciclopedia_ic/index.cfm?fuseaction=artistas_biografia&cd_verbete=3076&cd_item=3&cd_idioma=28555 A chronology of Porto-Alegre's life in Itaú Cultural {{DEFAULTSORT:Porto-Alegre, Manuel De Araujo 1806 births 1879 deaths People from Rio Grande do Sul 19th-century Brazilian poets Academic staff of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Brazilian cartoonists Brazilian magazine founders Brazilian romantic painters Brazilian architects Brazilian spiritual mediums Brazilian diplomats Brazilian translators Romantic poets Brazilian male poets Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Brazilian nobility French–Portuguese translators Greek–Portuguese translators 19th-century painters of historical subjects Spiritism 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century translators 19th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century architects Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Brazilian male writers Republican Party of Rio Grande do Sul politicians