ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
PICCADILLY, LONDON W1
28 JANUARY – 21 APRIL 2025
REVIEW by KATHLEEN BONDAR
Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism is the Royal Academy’s first block buster exhibition for 2025 showcasing works from ten Brazilian artists between 1910 and the 1970s under the umbrella of Modernism. Whilst each artist is unique in their work, the exhibition brings a collective Brazilian take on new modern art.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are plenty favelas included in the exhibition such as Tarsila do Amaral’s Favela Hill, 1924 and Candido Portinari’s Favela with Musicians, 1957 – both delightful rather than frightful depictions of slums. Amaral’s toy like figures busy before whitewashed cottages and Portinari’s musicians cluster in a hedonistic group. And, of course, tropical plants feature large, not least in Lasar Segall’s Boy with Geckos 1924 placed pride of place in the first gallery.
Self-taught artists like Alfredo Volpie, Djanira da Motta e Silva, an artist of indigenous descent, and Afro-Brazilian artist Ruben Valentim introduced distinctive Brazilian interpretations from the get-go. Djanira’s striking Three Orishas, 1966 takes centre stage in the middle gallery encapsulating West African, Candomble, religious beliefs. In the last gallery, Valentim’s geometric, symbolic, abstract paintings and sculptures finish the exhibition with aplomb.
Tarsila do Amaral, Landscape with Bridge, 1931; Lasar Segall, Banana Plantation, 1927; Anita Malfatti, Man in Seven Colours, 1915-16.
Artists trained in Europe began to develop a particular Brazilian style as they progressed. Pioneers of early Brazilian Modernism included Anita Malfatti, the Jewish Lithuanian emigré Lasar Segall and Tarsila do Amaral, now internationally celebrated as a leading female figure of Brazilian Modernism.
Anita Malfatti (1889–1964) trained in Germany, America and France. She was heavily criticised in her home country for painting ordinary Brazilians, apparently considered an unworthy subject by the establishment. She forged ahead with her work becoming a central figure in artistic circles. Paintings in the exhibition include First Cubist Nude 1916 (which melds cubism with figurative art) and her Portrait of Oswald 1925 a striking portrait of the founder of Brazilian Modernism, Oswald de Andrade.
Lasar Segall’s scope of work includes Brazilian Landscape 1925 and his abstract works like Favela 1954-55. Whilst in Europe he was a leading proponent of the Dresden Expressionist movement. Themes of social injustice infused his work when he settled in Brazil. There is a distinct adaptation to his adopted country not least with his subjects including Mixed-Race Woman with Child 1924 in which Segall’s choice of palette is bold and bright.
Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973) signed her work “the painter of my country”. Whilst she came from a wealthy family which owned coffee plantations, her political leanings were communist. She formed the Grupo dos Cinco (Group of Five) with her partner Oswald de Andrade and encouraged artists to devour wide-ranging influences to create something uniquely Brazilian. From her romantic Self-portrait with Orange Dress 1921 to the figurative abstract Model 1923 it is clear Amaral was able to embrace a variety of techniques.
Interestingly, Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism is not the first major exhibition of modern Brazilian art in the UK. There was a previous showcase at the Royal Academy in 1944, Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, to raise funds for the war effort donated in an act of solidarity by Brazilian artists. Seven of these paintings are currently on show and, like many of the works on display, come from rarely seen Brazilian private collections worth catching before they are returned.
The list of artists in the exhibition include:
Tarsila do Amaral (1886–1973)
Anita Malfatti (1889–1964)
Alfredo Volpi (1896–1988)
Lasar Segall (1891–1957)
Vicente do Rego Monteiro (1899–1970)
Flávio de Carvalho (1899–1973)
Candido Portinari (1903–1962)
Djanira (1914–1979)
Rubem Valentim (1922–1991)
Geraldo de Barros (1923–1998)
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