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 the ...

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 Realis ...

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

Early life and education

He was born in Itu. 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, 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 ...

for formal art lessons. @ Pitoresco. In 1869, he enrolled at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (Imperial Academy of Fine Arts), where he studied with Victor Meirelles and

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 painter ...

. 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 century ...

s per month for the purpose of studying in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He soon settled in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

and enrolled at the

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

, becoming one of the many students of

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

. 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 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and taught art privately. He also held exclusive art exhibitions and fulfilled commissions for portraits of notable people ranging from coffee barons to Republican 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 The Imperial Order of the Rose () was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was cancelled as ...

. 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 '' caipiras'' while moving from

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

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

Assassination

Júnior was stabbed to death in 1899 by his cousin José de Almeida Sampaio in

Piracicaba Piracicaba ( ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality located in the Interior of São Paulo, interior of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It serves as the main city ...

in front of the Hotel Central. Júnior had been having a long-standing

affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...

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