History visual arts in Brazil

The history of visual arts in Brazil is equally rich and diverse, covering a wide range of periods, movements and artistic styles. Here is a summary of the main moments and features:

1. **Pre-colonial indigenous art:** Before the arrival of Portuguese colonizers, the various indigenous tribes that inhabited Brazilian territory produced a variety of artifacts and works of art, including ceramics, wood carvings, body paintings and feather art .

2. **Portuguese colonization:** With Portuguese colonization from the 16th century onwards, there was an introduction of European artistic influences, mainly linked to sacred art and religious painting. The work of artists such as Manuel da Costa Ataíde, known as Mestre Ataíde, who left a significant legacy in Brazilian baroque painting, stands out.

3. **19th Century - Academicism and romanticism:** During the 19th century, academicism, influenced by European tradition, and romanticism predominated in Brazilian art, with emphasis on artists such as Victor Meirelles and Pedro Américo, who portrayed historical and literary in their works.

4. **Modernism:** The 20th century marked a period of rupture and renewal in Brazilian visual arts with the modernist movement. The 1922 Modern Art Week in São Paulo was an important milestone, where artists such as Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti, Di Cavalcanti and Oswald de Andrade sought an authentically Brazilian visual language, inspired by the country's national roots and cultural diversity. .

5. **Abstractionism and concretism:** From the 1950s and 1960s, movements such as informal abstractionism emerged, represented by artists such as Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica, and concretism, with names such as Lygia Pape and Geraldo de Barros, who explored geometric shapes, colors and materials in an abstract and experimental way.

6. **Contemporaneity:** The contemporary art scene in Brazil is extremely diverse, with artists exploring a wide range of media, techniques and themes, including conceptual art, performance, video art, installations and urban interventions. Names like Adriana Varejão, Cildo Meireles, Beatriz Milhazes and Vik Muniz are internationally recognized for their innovative and impactful work.

Overall, the history of visual arts in Brazil is characterized by its cultural plurality, the search for a national artistic identity and constant experimentation and aesthetic renewal over the centuries.

Latamarte