ART AND ARCHITECTURE
According to findjobdescriptions, the religious architecture, imported by the Jesuits, re-proposed the dominant style in Portugal, with continuous exchanges of artists as well as of processed materials (stones cut in Lisbon for the Brazil), having as a characteristic the maximum simplicity in the exteriors of the buildings (sober facades, with triangular or curvilinear pediment and two towers; typical, until 1740, the octagonal plan), in contrast with the sumptuous decoration of the interior: especially in the late Baroque the type of the igreja toda de ouro is manifested(“Church all of gold”). Worthy of mention are the Jesuit colleges of São Paulo (1554), Rio de Janeiro (1570), Olinda (1576), as well as a famous tower erected in 1535 in Olinda, of which some remains remained until the 18th century. The first stone altar was erected in the Jesuit college of Olinda, in imitation of that of S. Rocco in Lisbon. From it derives the series of altars in the new Jesuit cathedral of São Salvador (Bahia, 1665-1750). During the eighteenth century the building activity was remarkable: cathedral of Belém in Pará (1748); Rio de Janeiro theater (1767); Bomfim church in Bahia etc. Until about 1795, when the neoclassical taste gradually asserted itself, a local version of the exuberant Rococo style prevailing in Portugal under John V (S. Francesco in Bahia, 1723-1746), sometimes curiously mixed with chinoiserie (imported from Goa). Sculpture was equally flourishing, especially in Pernambuco and Bahia (Chagas, author of expressive religious images; AF Lisboa; V. da Fonseca and Silva, the most famous of the sculptors and architects of the time).
Until the mid-18th century. painting was especially practiced in Bahia, although Brazilian colonial painting is of no relevance in comparison with that of other South American nations. Later, the center of the arts became Rio de Janeiro, where in 1816 arrived, called by John VI, a commission of French artists organized by J. Le Breton. It had a positive influence in putting Brazil in contact with modern art. Among the painters of the 19th century. the romantic M. de Araújo Porto Alegre (1806-1879), continuator of the French, must be remembered; E. d’Angelo Visconti (1866-1944) was influenced by the Impressionists. Among the sculptors we remember the neoclassical A. Taunay (1768-1824) and H. Manoel de Lima (d. 1863). Even in the province there were local schools of some importance. During the war with Paraguay,
After the proclamation of the republic (1891) the monumental reconstruction of many cities began; French architects were also employed (Grandjean de Montigny). Thanks especially to L. Costa and O. Niemeyer between the two world wars a real architectural renewal began, for which the influence of Le Corbusier was also important, called as a consultant for the Ministry of Education in Rio (1936). Among the most significant architects are also to remember AE Reidy (1909-1964), R. Levi(1901-1965), the brothers Roberto, J. Moreira (1904-1992), L. Bo Bardi (1914-1992), alongside R. Burle Marx, who continued to characterize Brazilian architectural production. Important architectural interventions were carried out by P. Mendes da Rocha (b. 1928) in San Paolo (MUBE, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture, 1995, and State Art Gallery, 1998); in Rio, alongside the redevelopment of the historic center and the planned development of new neighborhoods, there are noteworthy works by J. Filgueiras Lima (b. 1932), also active in the rest of the country.
In the figurative arts, in San Paolo the Semana de arte Moderna (1922), the Sociedade pro-arte moderne (1933), the Art Museum (1947, housed in the new headquarters, designed by L. Bo Bardi, in 1968), the Museum of Contemporary Art (founded in 1963) and in Rio de Janeiro the Museum of Modern Art (1955), the Biennials (famous all over the world is La Bienal di San Paolo, since 1951; in Pôrto Alegre since 1997 la Bienal do Mercosul), contributed to the international climate of Brazilian art. Among the major painters, in addition to C. Portinari and L. Segall, F. de Rezende Carvalho (1899-1973), E. Di Cavalcanti (1897-1976), A. Volpi (1896-1988), I. Camargo (1914-1994), A. Ianelli (1922-2001), M. Mabe (1924-1997), A. Mavignier (b.1925) and the works with paper by A. Luis Piza (b.1928). Among the sculptors are to remember Brazil Giorgi (1905-1993), M. Martins (1900-1973); Folkloric exuberances give an imprint to the geometric art of R. Valentim (1922-1991), while pure geometry meets the favor of the sculptors S. de Camargo (1930-1991), A. de Castro (1920-2002), F. Weissmann (1914-2005), L. Clark (1920-1988), the latter also delving into sensory happenings and experiments. H. Oiticica (1937-1980) devoted himself to avant-garde experimentation in various media.
MUSIC
From the first cultural and practical manifestations, especially due to Portuguese missionaries-musicians of often considerable value, working in the sec. 16th and 17th century, the music in Brazil had in the 18th century. tendencies that intertwined manifestations (songs, arias, dances) produced by Iberian immigrants and African slaves. In the 19th century, around the first regular institutions of musical education (royal chapel and conservatory of Rio de Janeiro, flourishing thanks to JM Nunes Garcia and FM da Silva), a progressive movement marked mainly by European footprints was produced, which reached its peak in the work of AC Gomes. An art already better recognizable as a national one, which feels and spreads folkloric senses and stylistic features, subsequently appears to be personified above all by H. Villa-Lobos. M. Camargo Guarnieri, OL Fernández, F. Braga etc. Among the typical musical forms of Brazil there are samba and bossa nova.
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Historic city of Ouro Prêto (1980); historic center of Olinda (1982); Jesuit missions of the Guaraní (1983); historic center of Salvador de Bahia (1985); sanctuary of the Good Jesus in Congonhas (1985); Iguaçu National Park (1986); Brasília (1987); Sierra da Capivara National Park (1991); historic center of São Luís (1997); protected areas of the Southeast Atlantic Forest (1999); protected areas of the Atlantic Forest of the Costa della Discovery (1999); historic center of Diamantina (1999); Central Amazon Biosphere Reserve (2000, 2003); protected areas of the Pantanal (2000); Brazilian Atlantic islands: protected areas of Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas (2001); Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas national parks (2001); historic center of Goiás (2001).
