Lot Essay
Pallire travelled to Brazil in 1817-8 in the retinue of the Austrian Archduchess Leopoldine, fiance of the exiled Portugese heir to the throne and future emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro. In Brazil from 1818, Pallire was commissioned by the King, Dom Joao VI, to paint landscapes of Rio de Janeiro, So Paulo and Minas Gerais. Pallire remained in Brazil until 1830, giving art classes at his house on the Rua de Borbones. He was appointed professor of drawing at the Military Academy in Rio in 1822 where he produced the first lithographs to be published in Brazil. He married Agustina Grandjean de Ferreira, the daughter of the French architect Grandjean de Montigny, collaborated with another French architect Pierre Jean Pezerat on imperial commissions, and painted portraits of his family and members of the court as well as landscapes.
Villa Rica is present day Ouro Preto in the Minas Gerais region. It is about four hours from Rio de Janeiro, and was one of the places where King Dom Joao VI spent his summers.
Villa Rica is present day Ouro Preto in the Minas Gerais region. It is about four hours from Rio de Janeiro, and was one of the places where King Dom Joao VI spent his summers.