Portrait of artist in the studio: the representation of painters and sculptors by the brushes of their contemporaries in Brazil (1878-1919)

• Grant number: 16/26221-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2017
• End date: May 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Art Fundamentals and Criticism
• Principal Investigator: Elaine Cristina Dias
• Grantee: Natália Cristina de Aquino Gomes
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/05802-1 - Portrait of artist: the representation of painters and sculptors in Portugal and the possible dialogues with Brazil, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

This research aims to study portraits of painters and sculptors in the studio, active throughout the 19th century and early 20th century in Brazil, performed by his contemporaries. In these portraits, artists are represented by their peers in studios, elegantly posing or individually in the work and also collectively, alongside other artists or friends. We will try to understand how the modality of the artist's portrait in the studio denotes its importance and affirmation as a painter or sculptor, as well as the legitimation of his social position as an artist, through the recognition of his skills. We will take into account the visual models and international genres and the current studies on the subject of the studio and also consider the issue of self-portrait, above all, as a point of analysis and comparison of the works, still identifying the differences and similarities in the image made by himself and by another artist. We will recover the literature discussion on the subject and art criticism in the period on newspapers or magazines, and we will check if they were exhibited at the General Exhibition of Fine Arts or in individual exhibitions. The investigation about the possible relations between these portraits and photography, since many artists were in favor of the technique of capturing images in the production of their works and some of these were registered in their studios through the technique will be done. In addition, we will also analyze the sociocultural conditions in which the studios portrayed existed, in order to understand the artistic issues that existed in the period and the social relations maintained between the artists (portrayed and portraitist) and the academic institution as well as their studios in Rio de Janeiro. We hope, therefore, bring contributions to the study of Brazilian art to deal with a subject little explored in national academic research, especially when it comes to the portrait of an artist in the studio produced by his contemporary. (AU)