Anita Malfatti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anita Catarina Malfatti
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| Born |
Anita Catarina Malfatti
2 December 1889 |
| Died | 6 November 1964 (aged 74) São Paulo, Brazil
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| Nationality | Brazilian |
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Notable work
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The ... |
| Movement | Modernist |
Anita Catarina Malfatti (born December 2, 1889 – died November 6, 1964) was a very important Brazilian artist. She was the first to bring new art styles from Europe and America, called Modernism, to Brazil. In 1917, she had her own art show in Sao Paulo. Her art was very different and caused a lot of talk. People in Brazil were used to older, more traditional art. They were looking for a unique Brazilian art style, but they weren't ready for the bold changes Anita Malfatti introduced. She also played a big part in the Week of Modern Art in 1922. Here, she and the Group of Five helped change how people saw modern art in Brazil forever.
Contents
Why Was New Art So Important in Brazil?
Brazil's art world was quite different from places like France. It didn't have many art schools or a long history of art rules. By the late 1800s, people in Brazil wanted new ideas in art. They wanted art to be more open to everyone. By the 1920s, especially in São Paulo, there was a strong desire for new art. But people also wanted art to show real Brazilian life and culture. This mix of old and new ideas made it a challenging time for artists like Anita Malfatti.
How Did Anita Malfatti Learn to Paint?
Anita Malfatti started her art studies at Mackenzie College in São Paulo. But Brazil's art world felt too small for her curious mind. So, in 1912, she traveled to Berlin, Germany. Europe was a very important place for art at that time.
Studying in Germany
In Germany, Anita Malfatti studied with famous artists like Fritz Burger-Muhlfeld, Lovis Corinth, and Ernst Bischoff-Culm. Here, she learned about German Expressionism. This style used bright colors and showed strong emotions. Artists would often change or twist subjects in their paintings. A big moment for her was seeing the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne in 1912. This show featured many artists, but Cubism was the most exciting new style.
Learning in New York
Later, in 1915, Malfatti went to New York to study with Homer Boss. He taught her a lot about how the human body works, which helped her improve her painting skills. New York was also a place that loved Cubism. Malfatti learned about European Modernism, which focused on showing feelings and new ideas, not just realistic scenes. This global view of art was something she brought back to Brazil.
Why Was Her Art So Controversial?
Anita Malfatti held her own art show, Exposição de Pintura Moderna, in São Paulo from December 1917 to January 1918. In New York, she was seen as a modern, cutting-edge artist. But in Brazil, her art was not welcomed. People felt it didn't help find a "Brazilian" art style.
A Solo Show Causes a Stir
One reason her show caused such a scandal was that it was just her art. Brazilians were used to older, more traditional art. They saw Malfatti as an individual causing trouble, not as someone bringing new global art ideas. She tried to explain that her style was part of a new art wave around the world. But in Brazil, she was seen as an outsider, not connected to Brazilian culture. Her international style made her art seem even stranger to people expecting traditional art.
New Ideas vs. Old Traditions
Malfatti's art was not romantic or traditional. Her new ways of painting, like using Cubist shapes, bright colors, and strong lines, were hard for people to understand. However, some critics, like Oswald de Andrade, loved her work. They saw it as truly free in style and subject. Brazilian modernism was often linked to new ideas in writing. This meant artists sometimes felt they had to take on social and political roles.
Challenges for a Woman Artist
Another reason Malfatti's show was disliked was because she was a woman. Her art was not seen as "proper" for a woman at that time. A critic named Monteiro Lobato even said her art didn't have a true Brazilian spirit. Some art historians believe that because of this negative feedback, her art style didn't grow much after her 1917 show. They say her later paintings became simpler and more like folk art.
The Week of Modern Art
The Week of Modern Art happened in São Paulo in 1922. It was inspired by similar events in Europe that celebrated new, forward-thinking art. This week wasn't just about showing paintings. It also included talks, architecture displays, music, and poetry readings. The goal was to celebrate down-to-earth, free-thinking art styles that could bring change to Brazil. It aimed for a more open-minded way of thinking.
Academic training was not the main focus. Many different art styles were shown, from post-impressionism to early Cubism. While Cubism and art deco became big parts of the Modernist movement, Malfatti's style had the first big impact in Brazil. She was part of the Group of Five modern artists. She is seen as the person who started modernism in Brazil. The other artists in the Group of Five were Tarsila do Amaral, Mário de Andrade, Oswald de Andrade, and Menotti Del Picchia. During the Week of Modern Art, Anita Malfatti and Andrade even organized art classes for children. They hoped that teaching kids about art's freedom would help the modernist movement grow.
Anita Malfatti was important because she was a groundbreaking Brazilian painter. She was also an upper-class woman who saw global art trends and brought them back to Brazil. Her paintings showed the changing ideas of the 20th century. Even if her art didn't always keep its initial shocking style, her first impact was huge. It left a lasting mark on other Brazilian modernist painters and on art history itself.
How Did Her Painting Style Change?
Some people have said that Anita Malfatti's painting style didn't develop much after her first big show in Brazil. Her 1917–18 exhibition was even a calmer version of her true artistic style. We can see how her style changed by looking at her different artworks.
Her early paintings used very bright and strong colors. She often used primary colors and outlined her subjects in black. This made shapes clear, but the background could be hard to figure out. Her brushstrokes were large and not perfect. The people and background often looked like they were on the same flat surface, separated only by color and shape. Painting a woman sitting in a chair wasn't new, but the way Malfatti painted it, with the woman looking up, was shocking to traditional Brazilians. She was showing a different side of society when people wanted art to define "Brazilian" style. It made people wonder what she was trying to say about Brazil.
However, after her strong debut, Malfatti's later works seemed to go back to an older, calmer style. They were no longer as shocking or as strong a mix of Cubism and Impressionism. Her brushstrokes became much smaller and more uniform. Her colors were also less striking. Instead of using contrasting colors, a painting like O Canal e a Ponta uses deep shades that change slightly with light. The painting is still beautiful, but it's much more traditional. It looks more like a softer expressionism and doesn't use the flat, abstract qualities of Cubism that made her first pieces so unique. Even the subject matter is more traditional and "European"—a peaceful scene of a bridge over a river with trees and houses. It is very calm but lacks the energy that made her early paintings special.
It is thought that Malfatti was discouraged by the negative reactions to her exhibition. So, it makes sense that she might try to please her audience. But at the same time, other artists like Tarsila do Amaral were strongly developing their own Brazilian art styles. Anita Malfatti's courage and trained style brought new ideas to Brazil. She bravely paved the way for other artists to move forward. She will always be remembered as the artist who brought Modernism to Brazil, and that is a huge achievement. Her impact is legendary.
Exhibitions
- Esposição de Pintura Moderna Anita Malfatti Dec 12, 1917 – Jan 11, 1918
- Semana de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, 1922
- Museum of Art São Paulo Assis, 1949
- São Paulo Hall of Modern Art, 1951
Artworks
- Treseburg Forest, Private Collection, Treseburg (Germany), 1913
- Study for the Silly One, Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo 1915–1916
- O Barco, Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, 1915
- The Silly One, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP, 1916
- Picture of Man, Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo
- Man of the Seven Colors, São Paulo, 1916
- The Russian Student, São Paulo Museum of Art, São Paulo, 1916
- Mildred, Private Collection, New York, 1915 or 1916
- Ritmo, Collection of Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP, São Paulo, 1915–1916
- Tropical, Collection of Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, 1916
- The Yellow Man, Collection Mario de Andrade, Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros da USP, São Paulo, 1915–1916
- The Chinese, 1921-1922
- Dora Rainha do Frevo Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo 1934
- Maria Antonia, Private Collection, 1937
- O Canal e a Ponte, Galeria 22, Arte Brasileira 1940s
- Vaso de Flores, Galeria 22, Arte Brasileira, 1922
- Nu, Galeria 22, Arte Brasileira, 1925
See also
In Spanish: Anita Malfatti para niños
