Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (, UFRJ) is a public university, public research university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the country and is one of the Brazilian centers of excellence in teaching and r ...

and dates back to colonial times. A royal letter of 20 Nov 1800 by

John VI of Portugal '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...

established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e Figura'' in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first institution in Brazil systematically dedicated to teaching the arts. During colonial times, the arts were mainly of religious or utilitarian nature and were learnt in a system of

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

. The Decree of 12 Aug 1816 created the ''Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios'' (Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts), which established an official education in the fine arts. Then it was renamed as the ''Academia Imperial de Belas Artes'' ( Imperial Academy of Fine Arts), instituting a system of artistic education that would greatly influence the development of Brazilian art. On 8 Nov 1890, the old Imperial Academy was transformed into the ''Escola Nacional de Belas Artes'' (National School of Fine Arts). In 1931, the School joined the University of Rio de Janeiro, the current

Notable alumni

* Affonso Eduardo Reidy (1909–1964), architect * Anna Maria Maiolino (1942– ), Italian plastic artist * Artur Barrio (1945- ), conceptual artist * Arthur Timótheo da Costa (1882–1922),

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

painter * Burle Marx (1909–1994), landscape architect * Candido Portinari (1903–1962), painter * Franz Weissmann (1911–2005), Austrian sculptor * Ismael Nery (1900–1934), poet and painter * Lúcio Costa (1902–1998), Brazilian architect and urban planner * Lygia Pape (1927–2004), sculpture, engraving, and filmmaking *

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

(1907–2012), architect * Oswaldo Goeldi (1895–1961), artist and engraver * Rubens Gerchman (1942–2008), painter and sculptor * Victor Meirelles (1832–1903), painter

External links

Escola de Belas Artes
(School of Fine Arts of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) *

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro 1891 establishments in Brazil Arts organizations established in 1891 {{Brazil-university-stub