Tarsila do Amaral and Brazilian Modernism Explained

Introduction: Tarsila do Amaral

One of the most important Brazilian artists of the twentieth century, Tarsila do Amaral was born in São Paulo in 1886. She had a privileged childhood as the granddaughter of a wealthy farmer. This brought with it various advantages, including an education that taught her to read, write, embroider, and speak French (Damian, 1999). After finishing her studies in France and returning to Brazil, she left an enduring impression on the Modernist movement in the country. Together with her husband Oswald de Andrade, Tarsila worked toward creating a unique artistic perspective for the Brazilian people — one that would not reject the European forms and images that had ruled the country's art world until the 1920s, but would instead incorporate them into traditional forms to create an entirely new and more inclusive perspective.

The Modernist movement emerged in the midst of a Brazil subject to numerous dualities, including the diverse cultures within its borders, the division of labor, the distribution of wealth, and the tension between nature and industry. De Andrade concerned herself specifically with the inherent dangers of neglecting tradition and nature in favor of industrial greed.

After a lifetime dedicated to her artistic vision, Tarsila do Amaral died in 1973 in São Paulo.

Culture, Politics, and Arts in Brazil

Until the early twentieth century, the arts scene in Brazil was dominated by European forms and images (Amaral, 1995). Despite the fact that Brazil's cultural mix included not only Europeans but also black Africans and indigenous Indian tribes, art forms created by cultures other than the European were often considered inferior and unworthy of serious consideration.

This began to change when a group of artists, writers, and intellectuals gathered at the Teatro Municipal for an exhibition of works in painting, poetry, music, and lectures. This was the Semana de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Week) of 1922. While this event marks the historical starting point of Brazilian Modernism, artists had been involved in the movement prior to that week. Its importance lies in the fact that it represented a gathering of artists working within the same movement with the shared aim of creating a new and uniquely Brazilian artistic culture.

It is interesting to note that 1922 also marked the first centennial of the country's independence. One might therefore consider it significant that this year sparked an artistic revolution aimed at achieving cultural independence to match the political achievements of one hundred years earlier (Philippou, 2005).

This does not mean that the movement occurred in a political vacuum. The context of the Modernist movement in Brazil included various pressing issues — among them the lingering legacy of slavery, abolished only in 1888, and the challenges of industrialization, including a free labor market and an expanding urban transportation network. During the 1920s, São Paulo produced more manufactured goods than its primary rival, Rio de Janeiro.

With these developments, questions arose about the national identity of the country in terms of its social, political, and economic drives. Rapid change prompted new questions about national unity and the values that would bind its citizens. According to Kahl (1986), a national identity is an essential part of unity. He places emphasis on a "common value-system" as an adhesive that holds a society together. The upheavals and dualities of early twentieth-century Brazil appear to have eroded this adhesive somewhat, producing many different and competing viewpoints depending on social status, employment, and artistic outlook. The Modernist movement, in many ways, sought to stabilize and unify at least the artistic community of the time.

In these terms, Korfmann and Nogueira (2004, p. 126) emphasize the importance of recognizing the uniqueness of the Modernist movement in Brazil. They note that, despite shared terminology such as "avant-garde," this does not mean that the movement was automatically the same in its aesthetics and principles across different countries. Indeed, Brazil is so unique in nature that one must recognize the considerable differences between its artistic aesthetic and those of countries such as the United States. This is the very principle that de Andrade and do Amaral intended to promote through their work.

Hence, the Modern Art Week aimed to find a resolution for the longstanding artistic conflict between young self-identified modernists and the Brazilian Academy of Letters, the recognized body dictating legitimate artistic expression in the country. Despite the controversy surrounding the events presented during the Week, it marked one of the most important turning points in Brazilian artistic history — and for the art of Tarsila do Amaral in particular.

Thanks to the Modern Art Week, São Paulo distinguished itself from the culturally conservative Rio de Janeiro in yet another significant way: it became the location of the new Modernist movement and, as such, a culturally and artistically vital city — perhaps the most important in the country.