.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Candido Portinari emerged in the 1930s and became in the 1940s Brazil's most internationally recognized and important painter. One of few artists that was not the product of the well travelled bourgeoisie elite, Portinari was the son of humble Italian immigrants who slept in the bathtub of a rooming house in order to attend the National School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro. His eight years of attendance at the school were marked by the oppressive standards of the institution based upon Franco-Neoclassical models.
It is not until 1929 when Portinari finally won the European study prize he so coveted that he was truly allowed to escape the imposed structure of his training. In Europe he embraced the entire history of painting and his appreciation for what he saw serves as a point of departure for the rest of his career. It is also in Paris that he firmly realizes his intent of depicting what is true to him. Upon his return to Brazil in 1932, he begins to paint Brazilian themes, depicting his Brazil, a land of laborers, shantytowns, and poverty.
Though the influence of Europe is evident in his work throughout his career (from the 14th-century Italian Piero della Francesca, the Picasso of Guernica and Modigliani, to the political rhetoric and grandiosity of the Mexican muralists' like Rivera and Siqueiros) there is always a distinctly individual style that is Portinari's own. Rather than negate the histories and influences he knew so well, Portinari incorporated, ingested and regurgitated that which was his own.
In Portinari's work of the 30s and 40s the common man takes center stage. In his paintings hands and feet are disproportionately large, emphasizing the role of the laborer. Young Woman Combing Her Hair is an exemplative painting from the period, as well as the large hand, color and form are simple and strong. The volume of her form has an impressive magnitude, a grounding in the base of the canvas, and there is a true dignity in the girl's gesture. The mulata, emblematic of the mixture of races that is so intregal to Brazil, has clothing simplified to a patternless drape of grey, her flesh gives the painting its warmth; it is a pink darkened both by shadow and mixed race, her curly hair gives movement and life, and the sharp angles and bright color of the comb a firm line. She is young and somehow lovely, yet her face is marked by a resigned sadness and questioning quality.
The painting was purchased in 1943 by the avid collector Helena Rubinstein who had previoulsy bought eight paintings from Portinari in 1938. It is during these years that Portinari was experiencing great acclaim outside Brazil. In the United States his work was being heralded by critics, artists and institutions and numerous pieces were purchased by institutions including Morro by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Young Woman Combing Her Hair embodies what is best about Portinari's work in his most important period; a remarkably simple composition, yet emotive and powerful. His economy has spoken volumes about his subject- Brazil. Works such as Young Woman Combing Her Hair would influence generations of Brazilian artists to continue to look at their lives and realities. Portinari proved the viability of incorporating the influences that drove him yet without losing what was specifically his, what was distinctly Brazilian.
Christina Gabaglia Penna
Rio de Janeiro, 2006
Christina Gabaglia Penna is an art historian and curator who was greatly involved in the preparation of Portinari's catalogue raisonné.
It is not until 1929 when Portinari finally won the European study prize he so coveted that he was truly allowed to escape the imposed structure of his training. In Europe he embraced the entire history of painting and his appreciation for what he saw serves as a point of departure for the rest of his career. It is also in Paris that he firmly realizes his intent of depicting what is true to him. Upon his return to Brazil in 1932, he begins to paint Brazilian themes, depicting his Brazil, a land of laborers, shantytowns, and poverty.
Though the influence of Europe is evident in his work throughout his career (from the 14th-century Italian Piero della Francesca, the Picasso of Guernica and Modigliani, to the political rhetoric and grandiosity of the Mexican muralists' like Rivera and Siqueiros) there is always a distinctly individual style that is Portinari's own. Rather than negate the histories and influences he knew so well, Portinari incorporated, ingested and regurgitated that which was his own.
In Portinari's work of the 30s and 40s the common man takes center stage. In his paintings hands and feet are disproportionately large, emphasizing the role of the laborer. Young Woman Combing Her Hair is an exemplative painting from the period, as well as the large hand, color and form are simple and strong. The volume of her form has an impressive magnitude, a grounding in the base of the canvas, and there is a true dignity in the girl's gesture. The mulata, emblematic of the mixture of races that is so intregal to Brazil, has clothing simplified to a patternless drape of grey, her flesh gives the painting its warmth; it is a pink darkened both by shadow and mixed race, her curly hair gives movement and life, and the sharp angles and bright color of the comb a firm line. She is young and somehow lovely, yet her face is marked by a resigned sadness and questioning quality.
The painting was purchased in 1943 by the avid collector Helena Rubinstein who had previoulsy bought eight paintings from Portinari in 1938. It is during these years that Portinari was experiencing great acclaim outside Brazil. In the United States his work was being heralded by critics, artists and institutions and numerous pieces were purchased by institutions including Morro by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Young Woman Combing Her Hair embodies what is best about Portinari's work in his most important period; a remarkably simple composition, yet emotive and powerful. His economy has spoken volumes about his subject- Brazil. Works such as Young Woman Combing Her Hair would influence generations of Brazilian artists to continue to look at their lives and realities. Portinari proved the viability of incorporating the influences that drove him yet without losing what was specifically his, what was distinctly Brazilian.
Christina Gabaglia Penna
Rio de Janeiro, 2006
Christina Gabaglia Penna is an art historian and curator who was greatly involved in the preparation of Portinari's catalogue raisonné.