Tarsila do Amaral facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tarsila do Amaral
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Amaral circa 1925
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| Born | 1 September 1886 Capivari (modern-day Rafard), São Paulo, Empire of Brazil
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| Died | 17 January 1973 (aged 86) São Paulo, Brazil
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| Resting place | Consolação Cemetery, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Known for | Grupo dos Cinco Abaporu |
| Style | Modernist |
| Movement | Antropofagia |
| Spouse(s) |
André Teixeira Pinto
(m. 1906; ann. 1925) |
Tarsila do Amaral (born September 1, 1886 – died January 17, 1973) was a famous Brazilian painter. She was also a draftswoman and translator. Many people see her as one of the most important modern artists in Latin America. She is known for showing Brazilian identity through her art.
Tarsila was part of a group called the Grupo dos Cinco (Group of Five). This group greatly influenced modern art in Brazil. Other members included Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Mário de Andrade, and Oswald de Andrade. Tarsila also helped create an art movement called Antropofagia (1928–1929). Her famous painting, Abaporu, even inspired Oswald de Andrade's well-known Manifesto Antropófago.
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Early Life and Art Education
Tarsila do Amaral was born in Capivari, a small town in the countryside of São Paulo. Her family was wealthy, owning large coffee farms. This was two years before slavery ended in Brazil.
At that time, women from rich families were not usually encouraged to get a higher education. But Tarsila's family supported her studies. As a teenager, she traveled to Spain with her parents. There, she impressed people by drawing and painting copies of art she saw. Tarsila went to school in Barcelona. Later, she studied privately in her hometown with painter Pedro Alexandrino Borges. She also studied at the Académie Julian in Paris from 1920 to 1923. There, she learned from other important artists.
Developing Her Art Career
Tarsila do Amaral started studying painting in São Paulo in 1916. She later studied drawing and painting with Pedro Alexandrino. These teachers were respected but had traditional styles. Brazil did not have many public art museums or galleries back then. This meant that Brazilian art was often traditional, and artists had limited exposure to new international styles.
Around 1913-1920, Tarsila is believed to have written a song called "Rondo D'Amour." It was for voice and piano. This song was unknown until 2021, when its sheet music was found. In 2022, the song was recorded by professors at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.
Brazilian Modern Art Movement
When Tarsila returned to São Paulo from Paris in 1922, she met many artists. These included Anita Malfatti, Oswald de Andrade, Mário de Andrade, and Menotti Del Picchia. They formed the Grupo dos Cinco (Group of Five). Before Tarsila arrived, this group had organized the Semana de Arte Moderna ("Modern Art Week") in February 1922. This event was very important for modern art in Brazil.
The artists wanted to change the traditional art scene in Brazil. They aimed to create a unique modern art style. Tarsila was asked to join them, forming the Grupo dos Cinco. They wanted to promote Brazilian culture and use styles that were not just European. They also wanted to include things that were native to Brazil.
Influences from Europe
In 1929, Tarsila briefly returned to Paris. There, she learned about art styles like Cubism, Futurism, and Expressionism. She studied with artists like André Lhote, Fernand Léger, and Albert Gleizes. European artists were very interested in African and "primitive" cultures for inspiration. This led Tarsila to use her own country's native forms in her art. She combined them with the modern styles she had learned.
While in Paris, she painted one of her most famous works, A Negra (1923). In this painting, Tarsila made the figure simpler and flattened the space. She filled the background with geometric shapes.
Tarsila felt very excited about her new style and more patriotic. In April 1923, she wrote to her family: "I feel more and more Brazilian. I want to be the painter of my country. I am so thankful for spending my childhood on the farm. Those memories are now very precious to me. In art, I want to be the little girl from São Bernardo, playing with straw dolls, like in my latest painting. Don't think this idea is seen badly here. It's the opposite. They want each artist to bring something from their own country. This is why Russian ballet, Japanese art, and black music are so popular. Paris has had enough of Parisian art."
The Pau-Brasil Period
Oswald de Andrade traveled with Tarsila throughout Europe. When they returned to Brazil in late 1923, they explored different parts of the country. They wanted to find inspiration for their nationalistic art. During this time, Tarsila drew many of the places they visited. These drawings became the basis for many of her future paintings.
She also illustrated the poems Andrade wrote during their travels. This included his important book of poems called Pau Brasil, published in 1924. In the manifesto (a public declaration) with the same name, Andrade said that Brazilian culture was a mix of European influences. He asked artists to create art that was uniquely Brazilian. This way, Brazil could "export" its culture, just like Brazil wood was an important export. He also encouraged artists to use a modern approach in their art. This was a goal they had worked towards during the Semana de Arte Moderna.
During this period, Tarsila's colors became much brighter. She wrote that she had found the "colors I had loved as a child." She said she was later taught they were "ugly and unsophisticated." Her first painting from this time was E.C.F.B. (Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil) (1924). She was also interested in how industrialization affected society.
The Antropofagia Period
In 1926, Tarsila married Andrade. They continued to travel in Europe and the Middle East. In Paris, in 1926, she had her first solo art show at the Galerie Percier. The paintings included São Paulo (1924), A Negra (1923), Lagoa Santa (1925), and Morro de Favela (1924). Her works were praised as "exotic," "original," "naïve," and "cerebral." People also commented on her use of bright colors and tropical images.
While in Paris, she learned about surrealism. After returning to Brazil, Tarsila started a new painting period. She moved away from city scenes and began adding surrealist styles to her nationalistic art. This change happened at the same time as a larger art movement in Brazil. This movement focused on celebrating Brazil as the "country of the big snake." Cities also influenced her art. She included tall buildings from big cities like São Paulo. Her art became iconic, showing small details like a gas pump or large elements like buildings. This mix of details was important because they made up the city.
Building on the ideas of the earlier Pau-Brasil movement, artists aimed to take European styles and influences. They wanted to develop their own unique Brazilian techniques. This Pau-Brasil movement was a modern idea for Brazil.
Tarsila's first painting during this period was Abaporu (1928). She gave this untitled painting to Andrade for his birthday. It shows a large, stylized human figure with huge feet sitting on the ground. Next to it is a cactus, with a lemon-slice sun in the background. Andrade and poet Raul Bopp chose the title Abaporu. It is an Indigenous term meaning "man eats." This related to ideas about mixing European styles and influences.
Soon after, Andrade wrote his Anthropophagite Manifesto. This manifesto literally called Brazilians to "devour" European styles. It meant getting rid of direct influences and creating their own style and culture. Colonialism also played a role in her work. Tarsila used this idea in her art. Instead of being "eaten" by Europe, they would "eat" Europe themselves. Andrade used Abaporu on the cover of the manifesto to represent his ideas. The next year, Tarsila painted Antropofagia (1929). This painting showed the Abaporu figure along with the female figure from A Negra (1923). It also included a Brazilian banana leaf, a cactus, and the lemon-slice sun again.
In 1929, Tarsila had her first solo exhibition in Brazil at the Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Another followed at the Salon Gloria in São Paulo. In 1930, her work was shown in New York and Paris. Sadly, 1930 also marked the end of Tarsila and Andrade's marriage. This ended their artistic partnership.
Later Career and Legacy
In 1931, Tarsila traveled to the Soviet Union. She had exhibitions of her works in Moscow at the Museum of Occidental Art. She also visited other cities and museums. The poverty of the Russian people deeply affected her. This can be seen in her painting Workers (Operarios) (1933).
When she returned to Brazil in 1932, she became involved in the São Paulo Constitutional Revolt. This was against the dictatorship in Brazil led by Getúlio Vargas. She was seen as a communist supporter because of her travels. She was imprisoned for a month along with others who were considered left-leaning.
For the rest of her career, she focused on social themes. An example from this time is the painting Segundo Class (1931). It shows poor Russian men, women, and children. She also started writing a weekly arts and culture column for the Diario de São Paulo. This continued until 1952.
In 1938, Tarsila settled permanently in São Paulo. She spent the rest of her career painting Brazilian people and landscapes. In 1950, she had an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, São Paulo. A reviewer called her "the most Brazilian of painters here, who represents the sun, birds, and youthful spirits of our developing country, as simple as the elements of our land and nature…". She died in São Paulo in 1973. Tarsila's life shows the warm Brazilian spirit and its tropical energy.
Tarsila's Lasting Impact
Tarsila created 230 paintings, hundreds of drawings, illustrations, prints, murals, and five sculptures. Her biggest legacy, however, is how she changed Latin American art. Tarsila helped move modernism forward in Latin America. She developed a style that was unique to Brazil. Following her example, other Latin American artists were inspired to use Brazilian subjects. They also developed their own unique styles. The Amaral Crater on Mercury is named after her.
In 2018, the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York held a solo exhibition of her work. This was a major show about her art. In August 2022, several of her paintings were recovered in Brazil. They had been taken from an art dealer and collector's widow. These included Sol poente, O sono, and Pont-neuf.
Major Works
- An Angler, 1920s, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- A Negra, 1923
- Cuca, 1924, Museum of Grenoble, France
- Landscape with Bull, 1925, Private Collector
- O Ovo, 1928, Gilberto Chateaubriand, Rio de Janeiro
- Abaporu, 1928, Eduardo Constantini, MALBA, Buenos Aires
- Lake, 1928, Private Collection, Rio de Janeiro
- Antropofagia, 1929, Paulina Nemirovsky, Nemirovsky Foundation, San Pablo
- Sol poente, 1929, Private Collection, São Paulo
- Segunda Classe, 1933, Private Collection, São Paulo
- Retrato de Vera Vicente Azevedo, 1937, Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo
- Purple Landscape with 3 Houses and Mountains, 1969–72, James Lisboa Escritorio de Arte, São Paulo
Exhibitions
- 1922 - Salon de la Société des Artistes Français in Paris (group show)
- 1926 - Galerie Percier, Paris (solo show)
- 1928 - Galerie Percier, Paris (solo show)
- 1929 - Palace Hotel, Rio de Janeiro (solo show)
- 1929 - Salon Gloria, São Paulo (solo show)
- 1930 - New York (group show)
- 1930 - Paris (group show)
- 1931 - Museum of Occidental Art, Moscow
- 1933 - I Salon Paulista de Bellas Artes, São Paulo (group show)
- 1951 - I Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo (group show)
- 1963 - VII Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo (group show)
- 1963 - XXXII Venice Bienalle, Venice (group show)
- 2005 - Woman: Metamorphosis of Modernity, Fundacion Joan Miró, Barcelona (group show)
- 2005 - Brazil: Body Nostalgia, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan (group show)
- 2006 - Salão de 31: Diferenças em processo, National Museum of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro (group show)
- 2006 - Brazilian Modern Drawing: 1917-1950, Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro (group show)
- 2006 - Ciccillo, Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo (group show)
- 2007 - A Century of Brazilian Art: Collection of Gilbert Chateaubriand, Museum Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba (group show)
- 2009 - Tarsila do Amaral, Fundación Juan March, Madrid
- 2017 - Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (solo show)
- 2018 - Brasil: Body & Soul, The Guggenheim, New York (group show)
- 2018 - Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil, Museum of Modern Art, New York (solo show)
- 2019 - Tarsila Popular, São Paulo Museum of Art, São Paulo (solo show)
See also
In Spanish: Tarsila do Amaral para niños
