Brazil Art is a unique combination of ingenious and contemporary creativities. The modern form of Brazil Art was not born in a day; rather it involved a long process of gradual evolution towards refinement and modification.
The earliest form of Brazil Art was the outcome of the ancient native and the colonial cultures. The ingenious Art of Brazil speaks a lot about the nature and lifestyles of the so-called original inhabitants of the country. The natural surroundings which these tribal people enjoyed were evident in the primitive paintings depicting transparent river waters, beautiful waterfalls and soybean fields. These native pictures also reveal that soybean was widely cultivated on the land, forming a major food item of the time. The thatched- roof houses found in these paintings reflect the style of their habitats as well.
The open-mindedness of the native population finds apt revelation in the unbiased portrait looks.
The colorful dresses and intricate ornaments with which the portraits are decorated remind one of typical Indian jewelry. The surrounding wall hangings and fans represent subtle foreign touches.
The modern Brazilian Art saw a gradual transformation from native culture to fine arts. Beginning some time around 1922, it was basically a joint effort of a handful of poets, artists and creative intellectuals who received generous patronage from the merchants of that period, popularly called the “coffee barons”. This was a period when the artists were divided into groups under different patrons, like the Santa Helena Group and the Engraving Club of Porto Alegre. Prominent contemporary artists belonging to this genre of Brazil Art include:
- Alfredo Volpi
- Candido Portinari
- Alberto da Veiga Guignard
- JosePancetti
- Francisco Rebolo
- Aldo Bonadei
- Maio Zanini
- Clovis Graciano
Famous sculptors like Bruno Giorgi, Marcelo Grassmann and Alfredo Ceschiatti contributed much in the field of Brazil art works. In fact, the abstract paintings, engravings and other forms of pictures contributed much to the prosperity of Brazil Art.