Obra retirantes de candido portinari biography
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Candido Portinari is born in a coffee farm in Brodowski, São Paulo, on December 30. His parents were Italian immigrants, Batista Portinari and Domênica Torquato, who had 12 kids.
“I was born in a coffee farm. My parents worked the soil… They moved from Santa Rosa Farm to the Brodowski station – where there was no settlement; I must have been about 2 years old.”
There, my grandmother on my father’s side, an uncle, an aunt, and both my father’s brothers lived with my parents. I vaguely recall the house and the warehouse; there was a room full of watermelons and boxes of Port wine. These boxes always came with surprises. I was very happy when a small pocket knife with a mother-of-pearl handle came for me”.
(Paris, November 29, 1957)
The boy Portinari starts drawing.
For several months, he participates in the Brodowski church restoration works, helping the Italian painters “Dipingere Le Stelle” (paint the stars). Later, he helps a sculptor specialized in creating angels/adornments.
“The vicar João Rulli wanted to order a gate and they didn’t understand each other, I got a sheet of paper and drew the gate. The priest looked at me and said: – Tomorrow the angel/adornment sculptor will arrive to decorate the façade of the new church. You should go see him and learn. Ricardo Luini was my sculptor’s name. (…) When he finished, he gave me a coin, two thousand réis and a trip to Ribeirão Preto. A very good person”.
(Pieces of my childhood)
Using a pack of cigarettes, Portinari made a pencil portrait of the musician Carlos Gomes. The family kept the drawing.
The artist travels to Rio de Janeiro. He has lessons at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios. He registers in the National Fine Arts School where he studies drawing and painting and his professors were Rodolfo Amoedo, Batista da Costa, Lucílio Albuquerque and Carlos Chambelland.
“The closer to leaving I got, the more afflicted I felt. I would look to the floor, the Expressionist painter, engraver, illustrator and teacher. Candido Portinari was one of the most famous Brazilian painters. Portinari painted almost five thousand works (from small sketches and paintings of standard proportions such as The Coffee Farmer to gigantic murals, such as the panels War and Peace, gifted to the UN headquarters in New York in 1956 and which in December 2010, thanks to the efforts of his son, returned to be exhibited at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro). He also stood out in the areas of poetry and politics. During his career, he studied at the School of Fine Arts of Rio de Janeiro; He visited many countries, including Spain, France and Italy, where he completed his studies. In 1935 he received an award in New York for his work "Café". From that moment on, his work became known worldwide. Among his works, the following stand out: "The First Mass in Brazil", "São Francisco de Assis" and Tiradentes". His most famous portraits are: his self-portrait, the portrait of his mother and that of the famous Brazilian writer Mário de Andrade. On February 6, 1962, Brazil lost one of its greatest visual artists and the one who, with his work of art, contributed greatly to Brazil's recognition among other countries. The death of Candido Portinari was apparently caused by poisoning caused by chemical elements present in certain paints. “The vicar João Rulli wanted to order a gate and they didn't understand each other, so I took a piece of paper and drew the gate. The priest looked at me and said: – Tomorrow the attendant will arrive to decorate the facade of the new church. You should go see him and learn. Ricardo Luini was the name of my sculptor. (…) When he finished, he gave me two thousand réis of silver and a trip to Ribeirão Preto. Very good person”. What if I told you the most expensive artwork ever created by a Brazilian artist is about… cannibalism? Yep, you heard that right—cannibalism. But don’t worry, it’s all metaphorical. Nobody’s getting eaten here—except maybe outdated ideas about art. This is Abaporu, sometimes called the “Brazilian Mona Lisa.” But let’s be honest—it looks nothing like the Mona Lisa. There’s no mysterious smile, no muted tones, and definitely no polite Renaissance vibes. Instead, it’s bold, colorful, and unapologetically modernist. Oh, and here’s the kicker: it was painted by Tarsila do Amaral, a woman who didn’t just create art—she created a revolution. So here’s a question for you: when you think of modernism, what names come to mind? Picasso? Dalí? A few Europeans in berets? If that’s your list, you’re missing out on a whole world of groundbreaking art. Brazilian modernism redefined culture, celebrated identity, and yes, introduced the wild idea of artistic cannibalism. Trust me, it’s tastier than it sounds. Hello, lovely history fans! I’m Dr. Julia Martins, I’m a historian. I’m also Brazilian and, ever since my undergrad days, I’ve been head over heels in love with Brazilian modern art. Now, while most people have at least heard of Frida Kahlo, Brazilian artists are often left out of the modern art conversation, which is such a shame. Why? Because the Anthropofagic Movement—a movement that reimagined art and national identity through the metaphor of cannibalism—is hands-down one of the coolest things in art history. At least, I think so. Hopefully, you’ll agree with me by the end of this article. And if you’re wondering how a single painting could spark a cultural revolution, keep reading —we’re about to dive into the boldest week in Brazilian art history. Let me set the stage: it’s 1922, and we’re in São Paulo, Brazil. The city is buzzing. A group of Brazilian artists has organised a week of performances Candido Portinari (1903–1962) is one of the most important and controversial Brazilian artists, and one whose work has maintained a long relation with MASP, which possesses 18 of his artworks. Portinari popular [Popular Portinari] is the 12th exhibition organized by the Museum, and does not aim to offer a comprehensive overview of the artist’s oeuvre; rather, it presents a specific cross-section. The show’s title is indicative of the exhibition’s thrust, and carries a double meaning—referring not only to the artist’s popularity (his1944 canvas Retirantes [Migrants] is the work in our collection that is most often posted in social media), but also to his popular, commonplace background, thematics, iconography and diction. The focus is on the paintings with themes, narratives and figures of popular Brazilian culture—workers in their various activities (agricultural workers on coffee plantations or other sorts of farms, washerwomen, musicians, wildcat gold miners), popular characters and types (the cangaceiro bandit, the migrant, the woman in traditional Bahian dress, the Carajá Indian) and common folk of non-European ethnicities and races (Afro-Brazilians, mulattos, Indians). The characters appear in different geographic and social contexts (in Brodowski, the painter’s city of birth in the interior of São Paulo State, in impoverished landscapes, or in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro), having fun or playing games, dancing or playing music, watching a circus or attending popular festivals, but also feeling pain—in misery, in death. Portinari painted hundreds of portraits of the Brazilian elite, which are not included here, with one exception: Mário de Andrade (1893–1945), an important interlocutor of the artist, the first great interpreter of his work, and a pioneer in the study and valorization of Brazilian popular culture. The exhibition brings together different representations of po Candido Portinari
Candido Portinari (Brodósqui, SP-1903 / Rio de Janeiro, RJ-1962)
Candido Portinari
Candido Portinari
In, “Museu Casa de Portinari”, Brodowski – SP.
Portrait of Setting the Scene – (The Modern Art Week, 1922)