Tarsila do Amaral: Eater of Flesh

     Tarsila do Amaral (1886-1973), or simply Tarsila, was an artist from São Paulo whose work reflected a uniquely Brazilian narrative in the context of European modernism. Born into an affluent family, Tarsila had access to higher education and the opportunity to study abroad. She attended the Academie Julien for two years before returning to Brazil, where she found recognition among fellow Brazilian artists Anita Malfatti, Mario de Andrade, Menotti del Picchia and future husband Oswald de Andrade. Together they formed the group of five, or the Grupo dos Cinco, which sought to advance modernism and Brazilian culture, most notably during the 'Week of Modern Art' in 1922. Indeed, their work was significant in establishing the Cannibalism movement, or the art movement that dominated Brazilian intellectual life for the latter half of the twentieth century.

Photograph of Tarsila do Amaral, 1925

    Prior to the Cannibalism movement was Tarsila's Pau Brasil (Brazilwood) period, in which she and Oswald traveled the country painting the diverse peoples of her homeland. This Pau-Brasil period fused with Oswald's poetic genius to create what Mario de Andrade named "Tarsiwald".  Indeed,  it seems that "in Oswald's poetry we perceive Tarsila's visual mark, and in her painting Oswald's unmistakable poetic presence" (Schwartz). This was especially true after 1922. Although she hadn't participated in the Week of Modern Art, it was around this time that she had joined the modernist movement taking root in Brazil. From 1923 to 1925 she produced countless portraits of Oswald and illustrated many of his poems (titled "Pau Brasil"). Her work spoke of a passion for color and a reverence for her homeland. It was only in 1926 after her first solo exhibit in Paris that she became exposed to the surrealist influences of Europe and transitioned to what is now known as the Antropofagia (Cannibalism) period. Nevertheless, it seems that even before her exhibit in Paris Tarsila's work displayed elements of surrealism. Notice the bright and vivid colors and the blocky shapes of EFCB: The figures in the painting almost seem to be on top of one another; they are chaotic, but purposeful. 

Tarsila do Amaral, Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (EFCB), 1924

Tarsila continued to collaborate with Oswald throughout the Cannibalism period (roughly from 1926 to 1930). Her contributions were particularly important in establishing a visual representation of Cultural Cannibalism. Her paintings, like Oswald de Andrade’s Anthropophagite Manifesto, spoke of a culmination of European and Indigenous influences. With a Brazilian heart and a European hand, she depicted Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous subjects in the cubist and surrealist styles she had perfected during her time in France and Spain.  Such was the root of the Cannibalism movement: to consume Indigenous, African and European influences, "[digest] it all and [expel] something completely new" (Guerrilla Girls 73). Her first painting produced during this time was Abaporu, the work that supposedly inspired Oswald to commence the movement.  The title is taken from an indigenous (Tupi-Guarani) word meaning "eater of human flesh". Notice that the style has elements of surrealism, but the painting itself is distinctly Brazilian: the colors are warm and tropical; they are also the national colors (blue, yellow, and green). The monstrous figure in the painting seems to be a "tropical-primitivist parody on Rodin’s more cerebral Thinker" (Rommens). It is an ageless, sexless, anonymous entity whose only purpose is to reflect the urgency of Cannibalism.

Tarsila do Amaral, Abaporu, 1928

    Tarsila and Oswald separated in 1930. She visited the Soviet Union in 1931 and was so greatly impacted by the poverty and corruption she witnessed in Russia that upon returning to Brazil she became involved in the  São Paulo Constitutional Revolt against the Brazilian dictatorship. Like fellow leftist intellectuals, she was suspected of being a communist and was subsequently detained for a month. Nevertheless, she continued to rebel against corruption in the Brazilian government, her paintings focusing on social themes for the remainder of her career. Her painting, Segundo Class, reflects the poverty in Russia, which can also be tied to the poverty and corruption in Brazil.

Tarsila do Amaral, Segundo Class, 1931

    Tarsila do Amaral passed away in 1973 in São Paulo, leaving behind 230 paintings and a legacy that nearly surpassed that of her colleagues.  Her title of  'woman painter' was not an obstacle she encountered often, no doubt because of her wealth and education. Her impact on Brazilian intellectual life, on the other hand, was immense: she introduced modernism to Brazil and provided a visual to one of the most important movements in shaping Brazilian identity. To this day, Abaporu remains highly regarded and is one of the most expensive paintings ever sold in Brazil.

Works Cited

Guerrilla Girls. Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. N.p.: Penguin, 1998. Print.

Rommens, Aarnoud. "Antropofagia : Fleshing out the Image." Academia.edu. The University of Western Ontario Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.  

Schwartz, Jorge. "Literature and the Visual Arts: The Brazilian Roaring Twenties, by Jorge Schwartz." Literature and the Visual Arts: The Brazilian Roaring Twenties, by Jorge Schwartz. Universidade De São Paulo, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.