The Russian David Widhopff and the representation of Brazilian themes between France and Belém do Pará (1895-1910)

• Grant number: 22/10872-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Art Fundamentals and Criticism
• Principal Investigator: Elaine Cristina Dias
• Grantee: Laura Camila Silva da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/11441-0 - The Russian David Widhopff in France: artistic formation and the circle of illustrators of Montmartre (1887-1910), BE.EP.MS

Abstract

This research project aims to study works by the Russian illustrator David Widhopff (1867-1933), during his time in Belém between 1893 and 1896, currently preserved in national museums. Widhopff circulated in various artistic environments, among them the Imperial Academy in Odessa, the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and in Paris at the Académie Julian. He worked at the Parisian newspapers Artiste and Illustration, among others, before coming to Brazil. While in Belém, Widhoff dedicated himself to illustrating various Brazilian themes and, on his return to Paris, in 1896, he joined the Montmartre group of artists and the Courrier Français team. He maintains contact with Brazil and continues to illustrate local themes based on European models. In this set of works, those that constitute the central object of this project are "Regência Musical"; "A Anna Politova" (1895); "Alegoria em homenagem a Carlos Gomes" (1896); "Sua majestade Joana e seu pintor" (1895); "A mulata paraense" (1895) and the 12 illustrations made for the second edition of the book "Horto" (1910), by Auta de Souza. The research proposes to study the works with Brazilian themes and to analyze how the artist, during his stay in Belém and after his return to Europe, related to local and international artistic circles, how his works were composed and the motivations present in the maintenance of your contact with Brazil.