Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral (1886-1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman and translator.
She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style.
As a member of the Grupo dos Cinco, Tarsila is also considered a major influence in the modern art movement in Brazil, alongside Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Mário de Andrade and Oswald de Andrade.
She was instrumental in the formation of the aesthetic movement, Antropofagia (1928–1929); in fact, Tarsila was the one with her celebrated painting, Abaporu, who inspired Oswald de Andrade's famous Manifesto Antropófago.
Early life and education
Tarsila do Amaral was born in Capivari, a small town in the countryside of the state of São Paulo.
She was born to a wealthy family of farmers and landowners who grew coffee, two years before the end of slavery in Brazil.
At that time in Brazil women were not encouraged to seek higher education, especially if they came from affluent families.
Despite coming from a well-to-do family, Tarsila had her family's support in obtaining higher education.
As a teenager, Tarsila and her parents traveled to Spain, where Tarsila caught people's eyes by drawing and painting copies of the artwork she saw at her school's archives.
Tarsila attended school in Barcelona, and later trained privately in her hometown under painter Pedro Alexandrino Borges (1864-1942).
She also attended the Académie Julian in Paris and studied with other prominent artists (1920-1923).
Career
Beginning in 1916, Tarsila do Amaral studied painting in São Paulo.
Later she studied drawing and painting with the academic painter Pedro Alexandrino. These were all respected but conservative teachers.
Because Brazil lacked a public art museum or significant commercial gallery until after World War II, the Brazilian art world was aesthetically conservative and exposure to international trends was limited.
It is believed that around this time (1913-1920) Amaral composed a song in A minor for voice and piano named "Rondo D'Amour".
The song remained unknown until November 2021, when its sheet music was discovered at her grandniece's house in Campinas.
On 25 January 2022, the song was recorded at the theater of the School of Music of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte by three professors of the institution: pianist Durval Cesetti, soprano Elke Riedel and tenor Kaio Morais. | Source: © Wikipedia
Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral (1886-1973) è stata una pittrice, disegnatrice e traduttrice Brasiliana.
È considerata una delle esponenti più significative dell'arte modernista in America latina.
Appartenente al cosiddetto Grupo dos Cinco assieme ad Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Mário de Andrade ed Oswald de Andrade, contribuì inoltre alla formazione del cosiddetto Movimento antropofágico, del quale il suo quadro Abaporu è una delle prime espressioni.
Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral visse negli ambienti intellettuali ed artistici del Brasile e dell'Europa, soprattutto a Parigi, dove entrò in contatto con l'avanguardia ed il modernismo europei.
In Brasile ha fatto parte del Grupo dos Cinco.
Il suo dipinto Abaporu è considerato l'opera inaugurale del Movimento Antropofagico.
Oltre 230 dipinti, centinaia di disegni, illustrazioni, stampe, murali e cinque sculture, l'eredità artistica di Tarsila influenzò la direzione dell'arte latinoamericana.
Tarsila fece avanzare il modernismo in America Latina e sviluppò uno stile unico in Brasile.
Nel 2018 il MoMA dedicò una mostra personale del lavoro dalla Tarsila do Amaral, l'ottava retrospettiva sugli artisti dell'America Latina dopo le mostre su Diego Rivera, Cândido Portinari, Roberto Matta, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Armando Reverón, José Clemente Orozco e Joaquín Torres García.
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