Sculpture in Brazil
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The roots of Brazilian sculpture have been traced back to the late 16th century, emerging soon after the first settlements in the newly discovered land. Through the following century, most of the sculpture in Brazil was brought from Portugal and displayed
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
features. The Baroque style would flourish within the religious culture of the country and would remain predominant until the first decades of the 19th century. In the 19th century, sculptural activity decreased, but it later revived when both the government and the public took a new interest in the art. Modernism fomented a period of intense research into a new language of sculpture, with great achievements, and the contemporary sculpture of Brazil enjoys worldwide respect.


Baroque

The mid 17th century saw the emergence of the first national school of sculpture with the works of Domingos da Conceição, Agostinho da Piedade and Agostinho de Jesus, now seen as the founders of Brazilian sculpture. Through the 17th and 18th centuries, there were major centers of sculpture production in
Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...
and
Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capi ...
and in some cities in Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Although Portuguese pieces continued to be imported in great numbers, native masters proliferated. They took refined European models as a source for their inspiration, adapting their general lines toward a folk interpretation of the Baroque style. Decorative woodcarving would also be largely dependent on Portuguese influence, but it flourished with great splendor, as can be seen inside the many churches erected during this period. Most surviving pieces from the Baroque era do not record authorship, and only a few names are known:
Francisco das Chagas Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
, Manuel Inácio da Costa, Francisco Xavier de Brito and
Francisco Vieira Servas Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
. Above them all stands Aleijadinho. He was active in Minas Gerais where he left his greatest works, considered the glory of Brazilian Baroque sculpture: six groups of wooden carved statues known as the ''Via Sacra cycle'' and the ''12 Prophets'' carved in soapstone, all at Bom Jesus de Matosinhos Sanctuary in
Congonhas do Campo Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a pop ...
, now a World Heritage Site. The Baroque tradition survived until the beginning of the 20th century, albeit more and more sparsely and mainly in Bahia, despite the introduction of
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
in the 1820s. Two special genres of sculpture deserve mention in the Baroque period: the missionary sculpture and the so-called ''de roca'' statues. The first flourished in the
Reductions Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such redu ...
and was produced by Indians, often helped by
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionaries, as part of the Jesuits' method of teaching religion to the Indians, who were deeply impressed with and moved by European art. Its style is a highly original synthesis of European influences with the native vision. These creations are of great interest because of their plastic quality and their unique flavor. Although most of them have disappeared, either sold abroad, reshaped, or destroyed, many pieces do remain, preserved mainly by the
Missions Museum Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
in
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
, and they are
Brazilian National Heritage Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...
. The second special genre, the ''de roca'' statues, were also sacred in nature and shared a common purpose with the missionary art, as both were didactic. Manipulated by puppeteers in plays of a sacred character, they were instrumental in exciting piety in the people, enhancing the dramatic effect of the play. They were also commonly carried by chariots or other movable devices as part of a procession.


19th century

After the arrival of King
John VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal , ...
and his court in 1808, a group of French refugees known as the French Artistic Mission proposed, in 1816, the creation of an Academy of Arts on the model of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in Paris. The Brazilian Academy, called the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts, later restructured as the
Imperial Academy of Fine Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...
, dominated Brazilian art for more than 100 years. The Academy merged, following further restructuring, with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1931. During the 19th century, Brazilian sculpture declined severely. Religious tradition, until then the greatest source of inspiration, was displaced by secular concerns, and only a few important artists were active, all of them working within the academic circle, displaying a mixed blend of styles: Neoclassical,
Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
, and Realist. The only great name in this impoverished period was Rodolfo Bernardelli, but others deserve mention: Marc Ferrez,
Honorato Manoel de Lima Honorato is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Honorato Hernández (born 1956), Spanish long-distance runner * Honorato Trosso (born 1970), Angolan basketball player * Carlos Honorato (born 1974), Brazilia ...
, Francisco Elídio Pânfiro and
Francisco Manuel Chaves Pinheiro Francisco Manuel Chaves Pinheiro (5 September 1822 – 19 October 1884) was a Brazilian sculptor. Career Francisco Manuel Chaves Pinheiro was born in Rio de Janeiro on 5 September 1822. His parents were Úrsula Maria das Virgens and Manoel Berna ...
.
Cândido Caetano de Almeida Reis Cândido is a Portuguese masculine given name, equivalent of Spanish Cándido * Cândido de Oliveira (1896–1958), Portuguese football player * Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão (1886-1948), Brazilian zoologist * Cândido José de Araújo Viana ( ...
and Décio Villares, both noteworthy talents, left some fine pieces.


Modern and Contemporary

The last years of the 19th century witnessed increasing diversity of styles. In the beginning of the 20th century, Brazilian sculpture regained strength and was evolving across Neogothic,
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
, Symbolism, and Art Deco. Funerary sculpture opened up as a major market, and official art produced some important monuments.
Eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
pieces crowded on many facades, sacred sculptors were active, and a renewed interest in the art became evident. Modestino Kanto,
Celso Antônio Silveira de Menezes Celso is a given name, a variant of Celsus. It may refer to: People * Celso Sozzini (1517-1570), Italian freethinker * Celso Mancini (1542-1612), Italian Roman Catholic prelate * Celso Zani (1580-unknown), Italian Roman Catholic prelate * Celso G ...
, Ettore Ximenes, Amadeu Zani, Elio de Giusto, Adolfo Rollo, and Francisco Leopoldo e Silva produced fine pieces in this phase.Osman, Samira Adel & Ribeiro, Olívia Cristina Ferreira. ''Arte, História, Turismo e Lazer nos Cemitérios da Cidade de São Paulo''. In Licere. Belo Horizonte, abril de 2007. v.10, n.

Victor Brecheret Victor Brecheret, born ''Vittorio Breheret'' (December 15, 1894 – December 17, 1955), was an Italian-Brazilian sculptor. He lived most of his life in São Paulo, except for his studies in Paris in his early twenties. Brecheret's work combin ...
was the leading name for introducing Modernist taste into Brazilian sculpture, seconded by Quirino da Silva,
Lasar Segall Lasar Segall (July 21, 1889 – August 2, 1957) was a Lithuanian Jewish and Brazilian painter, engraver and sculptor. Segall's work is derived from impressionism, expressionism and modernism. His most significant themes were depictions of hum ...
, Antônio Gomide,
Elisabeth Nobiling Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
,
Bruno Giorgi Bruno Giorgi (13 August 1905, Mococa – 7 September 1993, 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 ...
, Julio Guerra,
Ernesto de Fiori Ernesto de Fiori (12 December 1884 – 24 April 1945) was a German painter and sculptor of Italian and Austrian descent. A dazzling personality himself, he rose to fame as a society portraitist and a major protagonist of Berlin's vivid art ...
and
Alfredo Ceschiatti Alfredo Ceschiatti (September 1, 1918 – August 25, 1989) was a Brazilian sculptor. Life and career Ceschiatti was born in Belo Horizonte in 1918 to Italian parents. He went to Italy in 1937, benefited by the Italian government in promoting t ...
. A landmark in this development was the 1951
São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...
, which lent
abstract sculpture Modern sculpture is generally considered to have begun with the work of Auguste Rodin, who is seen as the progenitor of modern sculpture. While Rodin did not set out to rebel against the past, he created a new way of building his works. He "dissolv ...
official support by granting first prize to a piece by Swiss artist
Max Bill Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer. Early life and education Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmith ...
.''Escultura do Brasil''. Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. Retrieved 20h24min, fevereiro 16, 200

/ref> Thereafter, abstract art flourished, displaying several interpretations of the style, but figurative tendencies did not vanish, combining with, or sometimes not, various grades of abstraction. The Pop Art and
Neoexpressionism Neo-expressionism is a style of late modernist or early- postmodern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s. Neo-expressionists were sometimes called '' Transavantgarde'', ''Junge Wilde'' or ''Neue Wilden'' ('The new wild ones'; 'N ...
of the 1960s contributed variety, and in the 1970s, Conceptualism broadened ideas about artistic creation and the significance of art, and the range of materials used for sculpting opened wide. Since the 1980s, Brazilian sculpture has been consistently taught in many universities, and in the beginning of the 21st century, many Brazilian artists enjoy international approval, such as
Francisco Brennand Francisco Brennand, or ''Francisco de Paula de Almeida Brennand'', (June 11, 1927 – December 19, 2019), was a Brazilian painter and sculptor, best known for his work in ceramics. Life Francisco de Paula de Almeida Brennand was born in Recif ...
,
Franz Weissmann Franz Josef Weissmann (September 15, 1911 – July 18, 2005) was a Brazilian sculptor born in Austria, emigrating to Brazil while he was eleven years old. Geometric shapes, like cubes and squares, are strongly featured in his works. He was one ...
,
Amílcar de Castro Amílcar Augusto Pereira de Castro (6 June 1920 – 21 November 2002) was a Brazilian artist, sculptor and graphic designer. Early life and education Born in Paraisópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil Amilcar de Castro was the child of a judge a ...
, Lygia Clark,
Sergio de Camargo Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...
, Sérvulo Esmeraldo,
Frans Krajcberg Frans Krajcberg (12 April 1921 – 15 November 2017) was a Polish-born Brazilian painter, sculptor, engraver and photographer. Known for his environmental activism, Krajcberg denounced the destruction of the Brazilian forests, using materials suc ...
,
Sonia Ebling Sonia Ebling (1918–2006) was a Brazilian sculptor and teacher. Biography Born in Taquara, Ebling began her art studies in painting and sculpture, in the Schools of Fine Arts of Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro between 1944 and 1951. In 19 ...
, Iole de Freitas, Willys de Castro, and
Waltércio Caldas Waltércio Caldas Júnior (born 6 November 1946), also known as Waltércio Caldas, is a Brazilian sculptor, designer, and graphic artist. Caldas is best known as part of Brazil's Neo-Concretism movement as well as for his eclectic choices in mate ...
.


Gallery

File:Frei Agostinho de Jesus - Nossa Senhora da Purificação.jpg, Agostinho de Jesus: ''Our Lady of Purification'', 17th century. São Paulo Museum of Sacred Art File:MuseuJulio22.jpg, ''Immaculate Conception'', Jesuit-Indian piece, 18th century.
Júlio de Castilhos Museum Júlio de Castilhos Museum ( pt, Museu Júlio de Castilhos) is a museum located in the city of Porto Alegre ( Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). It is the oldest museum in Rio Grande do Sul state. Its collection, over 10 thousand pieces, is Brazilian na ...
File:São Pedro Papa, séc. XVIII.jpg, ''St. Peter Pope'', 18th century. Portuguese school. São Paulo Museum of Sacred Art File:StFranciscoChurch2-CCBY.jpg, Interior of St. Francis of Assisi Church, Salvador, showing the extraordinarily rich woodcarving. File:Altar-mor da Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil.jpg, High altar of Our Lady of Carmo Church, Recife File:Terceiros---cristo.jpg, ''Christ resurrected'', 18th century. School of Bahia File:São-bento-olinda3.jpg, Detail of the high altar of Saint Benedict in Saint Benedict Church, Olinda File:Aleijadinho98.jpg, Aleijadinho: ''Christ bearing the Cross'', 1796-1808. Bom Jesus de Matosinhos Sanctuary File:Ferrez-MHN-dpedroI.jpg, Marc Ferrez:'' Bust of emperor Peter I'', early 19th century.
National Historical Museum of Brazil The National Historical Museum ( pt, Museu Histórico Nacional) of Brazil was created in 1922, and possesses over 287,000 items, including the largest numismatic collection of Latin America. The architectural complex that houses the museum was b ...
File:Dante-almeidareis.jpg, Almeida Reis: ''Dante returning from exile'', 1889.
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes The Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (MNBA; Portuguese for National Museum of Fine Arts) is a national art museum located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The museum, officially established in 1937 by the initiative of education minister , wa ...
File:Caravaggio22.jpg, Unknown artist: ''St. Anne teaching'', late 19th century. Our Lady of Caravaggio Sanctuary,
Farroupilha Farroupilha is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in the Serra Gaúcha between the cities of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul. The city's total area is 359.3 km2. Farroupilha has 73,061 residents (2020 estimate). Farroupilha hosts an ...
File:Folberger-Atlas.jpg, Wenzel Folberger: ''Atlas'', early 20th century, Porto Alegre File:Villares-julio-poa.jpg, Décio Villares: ''Detail of Monument to Júlio de Castilhos'', ca. 1913. Porto Alegre File:Igreja São José35.jpg, André Arjonas: ''St. Expeditus'', early 20th century File:Victor Brecheret - Túmulo de Olívia Guedes Penteado.JPG, Victor Brecheret: ''Tomb of Olívia Guedes Penteado'', early 20th century. São Paulo File:A Justica Alfredo Ceschiatti Brasilia Brasil.jpg, Alfredo Ceschiatti: ''Justice'', Brasilia File:Felícia Leirner - Colunas, 1975-76.jpg, Felícia Leirner: ''Columns'', 1975-76. São Paulo File:00704-Crocco---Eco-II-(2).jpg, Heloísa Crocco: ''Echo II'', 1978.
Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art The Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art (in Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul Ado Malagoli - MARGS'') is an art museum in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located in the centre of Porto Alegre. Its eclectic bu ...
File:Teorema - Bruno Giorgi.jpg, Bruno Giorgi: ''Theorem'', 1987-88. Porto Alegre File:02264-vasco-prado---modelo-.jpg,
Vasco Prado Vasco Prado ( Uruguaiana, April 16, 1914 – Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest ...
: ''Model resting'', ca. 1990. Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art


See also

* Sculpture *
Brazilian culture The culture of Brazil is primarily Western, being derived from Portuguese culture, as well as the cultural and ethnic mixing that occurred between the Indigenous peoples, Portuguese colonizers and Africans. In the late 19th and early 20th centu ...
* Brazilian art


References

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