Candido Portinari

Candido Portinari (Brodósqui, SP-1903 / Rio de Janeiro, RJ-1962)

Expressionist painter, engraver, illustrator and teacher.

Candido Portinari was one of the most famous Brazilian painters. Portinari painted almost five thousand works (from small sketches and paintings of standard proportions such as The Coffee Farmer to gigantic murals, such as the panels War and Peace, gifted to the UN headquarters in New York in 1956 and which in December 2010, thanks to the efforts of his son, returned to be exhibited at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro). He also stood out in the areas of poetry and politics.

Candido Portinari

During his career, he studied at the School of Fine Arts of Rio de Janeiro; He visited many countries, including Spain, France and Italy, where he completed his studies.

In 1935 he received an award in New York for his work "Café". From that moment on, his work became known worldwide.

Among his works, the following stand out: "The First Mass in Brazil", "São Francisco de Assis" and Tiradentes". His most famous portraits are: his self-portrait, the portrait of his mother and that of the famous Brazilian writer Mário de Andrade.

On February 6, 1962, Brazil lost one of its greatest visual artists and the one who, with his work of art, contributed greatly to Brazil's recognition among other countries. The death of Candido Portinari was apparently caused by poisoning caused by chemical elements present in certain paints.

“The vicar João Rulli wanted to order a gate and they didn't understand each other, so I took a piece of paper and drew the gate. The priest looked at me and said: – Tomorrow the attendant will arrive to decorate the facade of the new church. You should go see him and learn. Ricardo Luini was the name of my sculptor. (…) When he finished, he gave me two thousand réis of silver and a trip to Ribeirão Preto. Very good person”.
Candido Portinari
In, “Museu Casa de Portinari”, Brodowski – SP.

Portrait of Olegário Mariano wearing the academic uniform; awarded at the 1928 salon. ost, 198x65, 1928

Speaking of one of the most prestigious artists in Brazil after the literary monuments written by Antonio Bento (de Araujo Lima)[1] and Antonio Carlos Callado[2] among so many others, is, at the very least, tautological, since these authors have already studied, examined, clarified, and observed in detail all of his social concerns with man and his behavior. No less important is the “Portinari Project[3]” that his son, João Candido, implemented in 1979 and which brings together a vast collection of documents on the work, life and times of the artist, whose headquarters are on the PUC-RJ Campus.

The central theme of Candido Portinari's work is the human being and his social themes, full of distressing and painful situations or those that remind him of his childhood in his homeland, truly lyrical.

Candido Portinari - Biography

Candido Portinari was born on December 30, 1903, on a coffee farm in Brodósqui, in the interior of the state of São Paulo. The son of Italian immigrants, of humble origins, he received only primary education and from an early age showed his artistic vocation. He began drawing in 1909, and shortly afterwards (ca. 1912) he participated in the restoration of the church in his hometown. His life as a painter – I think he had always been one since birth – began in 1918 when he went to Rio de Janeiro and began his apprenticeship at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios. He enrolled at the National School of Fine Arts, with Rodolfo Amoedo, Batista da Costa, Lucílio Albuquerque and Carlos Chambelland.

1922-1928: Since 1922, Portinari had always competed in the “Salons” with portraits of his friends, which initially went unnoticed, until the portrait of Paulo Mazuchelli won him some awards. In that 1928 Portinari, with the portrait of the poet Olegário Mariano[4], won the Travel Abroad prize; he left for Paris and visited – 1929-1930 – also visiting England, Italy and Spain, visiting museums and galleries. Before his departure, he declared: “I understand that the painter should not use his stay in Europe for an intense and almost unconsidered production, as some colleagues have done. I consider it an observation prize. What I will do is observe, research, take from the work of great artists – from the past in museums, or from the present in galleries – the elements that best lend themselves to the affirmation of a personality. I will try to find the definitive path of my art by making studies and never large paintings... .”

Important: he met and married Maria Martinelli (1912-2006) who dedicated herself to all the material aspects related to the couple's needs, becoming, of her own free will, an art dealer and administrator. It is known that she always collected material about her husband, archiving newspaper clippings, magazines, letters and photos that became the basis of the documentary collection and research of the “Portinari Project”.

Morro do Rio; MOMA Collection, ost, 280x130, 1933

He returned to Brazil in early 1931, with new trends and the dominant idea of ​​creating Brazilian paintings, drawing closer to the modernist poets and intellectuals of São Paulo. It is clear that the painter discovered Brazil – following the example of Oswald de Andrade (1925, ca.) – in Paris. He exhibited at the Brazilian Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York, and MOMA acquired the painting "Morro do Rio[5]" (Figure 2). The work was purchased and included in the Museum's collection, which organized an exclusive exhibition of the Brazilian artist in New York in 1940, almost as a consequence of the success of the work “Café” at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition (1935) which projected and inserted his name into the international art scene and which, on the initiative of Minister Gustavo Capanema, was acquired by the MNBA-RJ. Portinari was already an artist capable of using the academicism of his training, fusing the ancient science of painting with a modern experimentalist personality.

Portinari's Panel in the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi

1937-1945: We lived in a period that Gustavo Capanema insistently – Minister of Education and Public Health – wanted to give visibility to the “modern” proposals that circulated in the intellectual circles of the federal capital during the Estado Novo, materialized through the construction of a “modern” building for the MEC – Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer, et allis – and important in the life of Portinari who composed frescoes showing our “Economic Cycle” in addition to the cards for the tiles that cover the external walls of the building, which were manufactured by Osirarte, in São Paulo (1943, ca.). In 1944, a major event occurred with the creation of a mural and tiles about the life of Saint Francis for the Chapel of the Pampulha Complex in Belo Horizonte – read Oscar Niemeyer – which would be completed with the “Via Sacra” in 1945[6].

A digression that shows an almost concomitant amorality in the use of art by totalitarian regimes. As had happened in Mussolini's Italy with “Il Ritorno all’Ordine” and the “Pesaro Group” used by Margherita Sarfatti, Portinari was also not an “official painter”, nor was his art “engaged”. Both in the context of the nationalist Estado Novo (1937-1945) as well as in the then Italian Fascism, the images of those artists were used by the Regime in the same way as Portinari's work, simply because they had a convenient language and imagery. In Italy, the movement represented “a return to order” after a long period of socialist turmoil, and in Brazil, the “Economic Cycle” represented a “Brazilianness” ready for a new stage of great development[7]. In both cases it was not possible to combine art and politics.

The Discovery of the Earth, 1941. Mural painting by Portinari executed for the Hispanic Foundation in the Library of Congress building, Washington, DC

1947-1954: A participant in the Brazilian intelligentsia at a time of notable change in the aesthetic attitude and culture of the country and influenced by the problems of our national reality, he was led to political activism and as a consequence he went into exile in Uruguay. In 1951 we see him back in Brazil, featuring prominently in the 1st São Paulo Biennial, in a private room. However, the first health problems appeared; the most serious in 1954 was characterized as severe poisoning by the lead present in the paints he used. used.

1952-1956: Created the two panels “War and Peace” (14 x 10 m each) commissioned by the Brazilian government as a gift to the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in New York. The two works were created with the support of around 180 initial studies that lasted most of the four years of the project. The final execution took 9 months.

In the conception of the director of the Portinari Project, João Cândido... “this synthesis work constitutes the greatest work of the painter's entire life. The most universal, the most profound, also, in its majestic dialogue between the tragic and the lyrical, between fury and tenderness, between drama and poetry.”

In the opinion of the artist Enrico Bianco, “War and Peace are the two great pages of the exciting communication that the philosopher/painter delivers to humanity.”

1960-1962: After living the last years without major paintings, Portinari suffered several relapses of the disease. His last solo exhibition in life took place in July 1961, at Galeria Bonino, in Rio de Janeiro. Disobeying medical orders, Portinari continued to paint for a major exhibition in Milan. At the beginning of 1962, his health deteriorated considerably and in early February he was hospitalized and died on the morning of February 6.

2012: Regarding the restoration of the panels of “War and Peace”: “This is not just an art exhibition. This is a great ethical and humanist message that addresses the main problem the world is experiencing today: the issue of violence, non-citizenship, and social injustice. This is the great message of Portinari's entire life and which was synthesized in these final works that he left behind” – João Candido Portinari.

Commented Works

This charcoal drawing (The Foot and the Axe) by Portinari on kraft paper is, to say the least, curious.

According to with the artist's Catalogue Raisonée, of one of the "transport drawings" for the mural painting "Pau-Brasil"; which was done in 1938, for the "Great Audience Hall of the Ministry of Education".

Since it is a "transport drawing" it is admirably finished. What was it about after all? After conceiving the theme and the drawing and obtaining its approval from the commissioner, the artist, in general, presented a detailed drawing of the final project. The "transport drawing" or the "guide drawing" was then reproduced in natural size on thick paper or even cardboard. This had its contours perforated or marked with charcoal so that, when juxtaposed to the previously prepared wall - with the plaster still wet - the drawing could be easily transferred. This transferred contour was quickly retraced, thus forming the final contour of the figure. The colors were applied next and only practice showed the artist what tone they would acquire when dry. Any necessary correction meant the destruction of the work that had been done, hence the "sine qua non" condition of extreme skill and firmness in the line on the part of the artist.

In this small fragment we can see a draftsman who has in-depth knowledge of the human body and its interpretation through drawing, where the enormous technical richness and the expression transmitted through form are as important, if not more important, than color. In fact, it is a fragment of a drawing measuring approximately 280x250 cm in which the characters were distorted, elongated and transformed to convey the dramatic effect, their heroic proportions without the need to emphasize the differences between the ethnic types portrayed.
Valerio Pennacchi-Pennacchi, 2006.

Three friends on the hill[8]
C. T. Portinari (Brodósqui,1903 – Rio de Janeiro,1962)
Oil on canvas
100 x 82 cm, 1938

"Brazilian art will only exist when our artists completely abandon useless traditions and devote themselves wholeheartedly to the sincere interpretation of our environment"
Candido Portinari
Newspaper "A Manhã"; June, 1926.

The painting in question is a perfect example of the brown series also called "Brodósquian", a phase that began in 1933 - 1934 and was gradually transformed until 1940; without sudden jumps or splits; in fact, as is customary in all "Portinaresque" work.

Considering the legendary prestige of the artist and the immense iconographic diffusion of his work, I would like to point out that the work presented here is representative of a period in which very well-known and prestigious works were produced; such as "The Circus", "Football" and "The Hill"; the latter of which now belongs to the MOMA-NYC collection.

The work presents us with a dominant surface of brown, earth and purple tones, tinged with some light that illuminates the three female figures of conspicuous stature, characterized by the abandonment of proportions and the elongation of the silhouettes that give them a clear "neoclassical" address, which should be perceived as the recovery of the pictorial tradition enunciated by Jean Cocteau, who coined the term "rappel à l’ordre" for this purpose. Spontaneous brushstrokes replace the humble shelters of the hill, and chiaroscuro effects framing the main theme make us feel the landscape and convey a sense of stillness that contrasts with the severity of the horizon.

The pictorial production of this work is part of a phase generally accepted as Portinari's break with academicism, which also brings at its core the representation of human presence, which becomes a constant in the painter's work.

I do not believe that there is a lack of works to enrich the bibliography on Candido Portinari; the great theorists, critics and art scholars have already written about the scope of his work or have chosen a specific section.

Fortunately, the debate is not over. Portinari lives!
Valerio Pennacchi-Pennacchi, 2004.

Works by Candido Portinari

Considering that his production may reach around 5,000 works, we have the opportunity to see in this selection of 30 oil works, crayon and graphite drawings, metal engravings and lithographs; a significant sample of the works of the great artist who, through the gigantic murals on the economic evolution of Brazil, in the current Capanema Palace[9], shows one of the most significant moments in his career, despite being infinitely less known than the “War and Peace” panels at the UN[10]. Building originally designed to be the headquarters of the MEC, it tests the use of “Corbusean matrix” functionalist architecture in the country, in addition to introducing new elements. It was built (1936-1945) at a time when the State aspired to convey a sense of modernity and intellectual advancement, which was reflected both in the building's design and in the historical context in which it is located.

Talking about one of the most prestigious artists in Brazil after the literary monuments written by Antonio Bento (de Araujo Lima)[11] and Antonio Carlos Callado[12] is, at the very least, tautological since these authors have already examined, clarified, studied and observed in detail all of their social concerns with man and his behavior. “Candinho” portrayed them from his severe perspective, taking advantage of part of the European modern art (1928-1931) that he was able to see, analyze and partially incorporate into his language (read, School of Paris and Return to Order), winning great admirers in his own country and abroad. As he had promised, in Europe he studied and researched a lot and painted very little, undoubtedly an intelligent way of not submitting to a new colonialism sponsored by Enba.

With a perspective we distinguish a work with modern figurative primacy related to a greater or lesser degree to cubism and surrealism. We are talking about “modernism” whose merit was the deconstruction of the aesthetic systems of traditional art... .

Calm your spirits, take a deep breath and look for the essence in the portrait of a black girl who, like most other drawings, we manage to complete through perception, since we involuntarily fixate on the extraordinary power of her facial expression.

What about the density, the weight of the bodies, the volume of the muscles and the strength concentrated in the feet or hands, the robust sculptural forms like the ones we see in the “cane cutters”? cane”.

Even when we examine “the rabbit” (lot no. ...) we notice in it volume and “state of alert” so well represented by a single eye and the stretched ears (lot no. ...).

In “Frevo”, with its figures not anchored to the earth, the deformations of the feet and hands of those who dance are evident, symbolizing their manual and agricultural work.

It is the permanent mark of genius!
Valerio Pennacchi-Pennacchi, 2012.

Reviews

Portinari marked, with his Retirantes, his Meninos de Brodowski, his paintings of farmers, the abyss that still exists between Brazilian nature, between the brutally grandiose country that comes to mind when we say, as if we were saying a magic word, “Brazil”, and the little life that the man who imitates Europe and the United States has created in Brazil. His painting from those times is a protest against this lack of intimacy that exists between us and what is called Brazilian reality. It is a cry against the fact that we are still so superimposed on the landscape and not victoriously planted in it, like the feet of the blacks, the caboclos, the tapuias, the cafusos, the curibocas and the immigrants.
Antonio Callado - Writer
In: Callado, Antonio. Retrato de Portinari. MAM-RJ, 1956.

The last time I saw Portinari, his eyes were full of tears. If I'm not mistaken, it was at the Castle; I was going to look for a ride and he was coming with his Maria. What we said was very little. He was thin; he hugged me deeply and said: Imagine, I can't paint anymore, the doctor has forbidden me. It was the time of the afternoon when things are lit from the side, and Portinari's blue eyes, with tears that refused to fall, appeared to me as if they were also telling me about his immortal work. Maria didn't leave much time for conversation; he must not be moved. I felt like going after him and saying: You have already given us so much. You have already given us the greatest work that a painter can offer to his land, you have already accumulated a wealth that will last for time, so you can rest easy without worrying about not painting anymore. They were already far away and the words died in my mind.

It was only after Portinari's death that I went to the UN and saw, in the dazzling height of his art, the War and Peace panel. Each figure appeared faceted to me: a star or a precious stone, with its own light, and I felt like saying to all those people who were walking through the lobby, men and women from all over the world: Look, there is our glory, there is the panel of our greatest painter. I was also born in Brazil like him, Portinari…
Dinah Silveira de Queiroz
In: National Museum of Fine Arts (Rio de Janeiro, RJ);
Museum of Art of São Paulo (São Paulo, SP).
Portinari Illustrator. RJ, 1977.

Candido Portinari enriched us with his work as a painter. He was one of the most important men of our time, because from his hands came color and poetry, the drama and hope of our people. With his brushes, he touched our reality deeply. The Brazilian land and people — peasants, migrants, children, saints and circus artists, animals and landscape — are the material with which he worked and built his immortal work.
Jorge Amado - Writer
In: Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (Rio de Janeiro, RJ);
Museu de Arte de São Paulo (São Paulo, SP).
Portinari Illustrator. RJ, 1977.

In these days of disorientation, tightrope walking and anemia, the example of Candido Portinari's powerful art, so rich in meaning, material and solid technique, comes to us like a good, life-giving wind, showing us that the great Latin vein has not been exhausted, but, on the contrary, enriched with new themes, it continues to live, also due to the merit of a son of emigrants who still believes that painting is a serious, arduous and useful craft for men.
Eugenio Luraghi
Poet, Writer and Art Critic
In: Palazzo Reale (Milan, ITA). Mostra di Candido Portinari. Eugenio Luraghi et al. Milan, Italy, 1963.

Faced with these cries, these seahorses, which speak to the deepest part of my soul, I feel in a state of absolute critical inhibition. All I can do is admire...
Manuel Bandeira - Writer
In: The inauguration of Portinari's paintings at the new headquarters of Rádio Tupi.
A Manhã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 1942.

"From Café onwards, the human, understood in social and historical terms, becomes the tone of Portinari's art, focused on capturing natural and psychological reality, for an expressiveness that is sometimes serene and serious, sometimes desperate and excessive. The new problematic leads him, following the example of the Mexicans, to muralism, in which he seeks to magnify his search for a national imagery, based on work and his rural roots. (...) After 1947, Portinari's art undergoes a new modification. Expressive drama and social concerns are simultaneously set aside. (...) Portinari's new themes are above all historical - The First Mass in Brazil, Tiradentes (...). The trip to Israel seems to give a new dimension to Portinari's art Portinari. (...) At the same time that he was seduced by color, Portinari began to experiment with geometric abstraction, influenced by the crystalline cubism of the French painter Jacques Villon, whom he had admired for some time. (...) The search for geometric rigor combined with a clear and sonorous palette did not, however, mask the emptiness that Portinari's painting had been undergoing in the last years of his artistic activity".
Annateresa Fabris
Portinari, social painter. Dissertation (Master's Degree in Visual Arts)
ECA/USP, São Paulo, 1977.

"(...) When he began to address this theme (migrants), there were still no notable social concerns in Portinari's work. Only families camped on the outskirts of their village appear. (...) They also did not have the designation of migrants. Some of these compositions have undeniable visual beauty (...) They began to be produced in 1935. (...) Only later would the series of migrants take on a markedly social aspect in the career of the Brazilian master. Not only because of the Great War that began in 1939, but also because of the appeal to the expressive resources that would later characterize the most notable part of his work. This social phase culminates with the large canvas Retirantes and the composition O Morto na Hammock, belonging to the MASP collection. (...) The migrants painted in the last years of the artist's life were no longer just social paintings. They also became solutions to formal problems. (...) In any case, in its three distinct phases, Portinari's Os Retirantes will remain as some of the most significant and poignant works of Brazilian art of all time".
Antônio Bento
Portinari. Rio de Janeiro: Leo Christiano, 1980. p.169.

"Portinari's world: as, attracted by it, we move through it through thought, full of wonder - perhaps of fear - but accepting its macabre elements with the same naturalness with which our unconscious welcomes the most fantastic dreams that disturb us at the time of sleep, we gradually arrive at the perception that we are not before a merely imaginary world but before the intensified and fantastic recreation of the world that Portinari knows, that of his native land, Brazil. His paintings are proof of this. In them we see the landscape, we tread the ground; we see its workers and its poverty - not described with anguish, described. And they are described with love. Not love for poverty and incessant work, but love for women, men, children - who, rich or poor, are objects of love for him. He paints them with complete acceptance. 'Blessed are the meek' is what he seems to say, from the bottom of his heart. And without the conditions in which they live in their Brazilian land, there is nothing, from what we can see, of an enviable heritage; the life they lead, for the goodness that exudes from them, is worth living. They work; they get married and support families; their children play. And there are no more eloquent paintings in the treasury of the arts than these, which depict the happiness of children at play".
Rockwell Kent
CALLADO, Antonio. Candido Portinari.
In: CANDIDO Portinari. São Paulo: Finambrás, 1997. P. 11-19.

"(...) However, it cannot be said that there was an official aesthetic, if we understand by this a style that Power adopts as its own and imposes it. Therefore, it cannot be said that Portinari was an official painter (...). What Power did was recover the tactic adopted by the modernist movement, where the government used its support for Portinari as an example of its patronage. But if there was no official art, this does not mean that Portinari's style could not also be assimilated by the ideology of Power. Regarding the thematic aspect, if Portinari's orientation did not correspond to an evident and epic patriotism, as was perhaps the government's desire, it does not mean that it could not be recovered. The dignity that the artist gives to the worker, the prominence he gives to the popular character, in short, all those subjects he addressed could not be denied by a power for which the social question (even from a populist perspective) constituted one of the bases of its politics. But if Portinari's painting could be recovered, it was mainly because its formal conception was reconcilable with the symbolic stratification of a conservative ideology. (...)"
Carlos Zilio
In, A querela do Brasil: a questão da identidade da arte brasileira: a obra de Tarsila, Di Cavalcanti e Portinari/1922-1945.
2nd edition, Rio de Janeiro: Relume-Dumará, 1997. p.112.

"Candido Portinari begins to gain resonance in the Rio de Janeiro art scene between 1928 and 1931, a period that follows the most violent outbreak of modernism in Brazil, a period that begins to perceive the historical avant-gardes as part of the legacy of the history of Western art, and no longer as an absolute paradigm for new artists. Beginning after the decline of the avant-garde, Portinari's work dialogued with numerous visual traditions of European art, from those of the Early Renaissance to the work of his contemporary Pablo Picasso. Through his astonishing ability to absorb the most diverse forms, Portinari navigated with unmistakable ease through formal schemes created by Botticelli, Picasso, Pisanello, De Chirico, Holbein, Paul Delvaux... Portinari produced his works by experimenting with pictorial procedures of ancient and contemporary artists, always adding to each of these 'experiments' solutions of a strong personal nature, which still await a deeper understanding.

(...) Back in Brazil, no longer academic, but also without the radicalism of the avant-garde artists, Portinari ended up being elected by the protagonists of the local modernist movement (Mário de Andrade, Manuel Bandeira, Carlos Drummond de Andrade and others); as the main driving force behind the creation of modern art in Brazil: an art that attempted to distance itself from the conventions of the Academy, but was careful not to 'get lost' in abstraction or other avant-garde 'excesses'".
Tadeu Chiarelli
In: Arte internacional brasileira. São Paulo: Lemos, 1999. p. 175-181.

Testimonies

"Brazilian art will only exist when our artists completely abandon useless traditions and give themselves over with all their soul to a sincere interpretation of our environment"
Candido Portinari
Interview originally published in the newspaper A Manhã in June 1926.
In BALBI, Marilia. Portinari: o pintor do Brasil. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2003. p. 26.

"I don't pretend to understand politics. My convictions, which are deep-rooted, came to them through my poor childhood, my life of work and struggle, and because I am an artist. I pity those who suffer, and I would like to help remedy the existing social injustice. Any conscious artist feels the same".
Candido Portinari
Statement made to the Poet Vinícius de Moraes and published posthumously, in March 1962. 
In BALBI, Marilia. Portinari: o pintor do Brasil. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2003. p.12.

"I came here to see Palaninho, after having visited so many museums, so many castles and so many civilized people. There in Brazil, I never thought about Palaninho. From here I got a better view of my land - I got to see Brodósqui as it is. I have no desire to do anything here. I'm going to paint Palaninho, I'm going to paint those people with those clothes and with that color. When I return, I'll see if I can make my homeland. I wear patent leather shoes, wide pants and a collar, but deep down I'm dressed like Palaninho".
Candido Portinari
Excerpt from a letter sent from his trip to Paris to Rosalita Candido Mendes.
In BALBI, Marilia. Portinari: o pintor do Brasil. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2003. p. 28.

Portinari; his thoughts, his phrases

"I ran out, I still had time to catch the moving train. The last image that remained in my memory was that of my father, he had gotten up to say goodbye, I can still see him... he didn't have time to say anything to me"... 
Talking about his move to Rio de Janeiro.

"The target of my painting is feeling. For me, technique is merely a means. However, an indispensable means"
In a statement that scandalized his academic teachers at ENBA.

"A trip to Europe is useful for a young man who observes. We have time to retreat. We have the courage to return to the starting point. I am young"
On the values ​​he learned from his years living in Paris.

"I am with those who think that there is no neutral art. Even without any intention on the part of the painter, the painting always indicates a social meaning" 
Beginning to flirt with socialism.

"As for modern painting, she tends frankly towards mural painting. By this, of course, I do not mean to say that easel painting loses its value, since the way it is done does not matter"
Explaining his change to frescoes.

"And the cause of all this is still the government, which insists on not having, as is observed in Mexico, a direct interest in matters of art"
Complaining about the lack of government support for exhibitions and shows.

"I speak to honest men, sincere Brazilians, true patriots, so that they may analyze this matter with a cool head"
After completing the series of paintings "Retirantes".

"They are preventing me from living"
Commenting on the medical orders that prohibited him from continuing to paint so as not to aggravate his intoxication

"And because he had thus arranged the essential, leaving the rest to the doctors of Byzantium, he abruptly the infinite hand, the blue-eyed hand of Candido Portinari, falls silent and flies away forevermore"
Carlos Drummond de Andrade, in the poem "The Hand", dedicated to his friend on the occasion of his death.

Interviews

João Candido Portinari – Portinari Project / Agência FAPESP: 11/03/2010 / By Fábio de Castro

A researcher in the areas of telecommunications engineering and mathematics, João Candido Portinari left his academic career aside 35 years ago, when he decided to dedicate himself entirely to a grand project: locating, digitizing and cataloging the more than 5,000 works of his father, Candido Portinari (1903-1962), one of the greatest Brazilian artists.

The Portinari Project has managed to make virtually all of the artist's work available in digital form. According to João Candido, the initiative is a way of correcting a perverse consequence of the importance and recognition of his father's work: with most of his paintings scattered in private collections around the world, the painter who dedicated his life to portraying the people has his work inaccessible to the general public.

After 20 years of research, described by João Candido as “true detective work”, the entire work has been catalogued. Over the past 13 years, the Portinari Project has been promoting the painter's work throughout Brazil, holding traveling exhibitions in remote communities, with a special focus on children.

The next step for the project will be a grand one: temporarily bringing back to Brazil the work War and Peace: two 14-meter-high panels that were designed especially for the United Nations headquarters in New York.

With the headquarters undergoing major renovations, the Portinari Project was able to secure the two panels until 2013. The work, completed in 1956, was Portinari's last and caused his death. During the five years he worked on the 140-square-meter panels, the painter was already suffering from lead poisoning from oil paints. He died in early 1962 as a result of poisoning.

Considered by Portinari himself to be his best work, the panels of War and Peace will be presented in December at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, the city where they were shown to the Brazilian public for just one time before being shipped to the United States 53 years ago. They will then undergo restoration that the public will be able to see, a process that will take a few months. After the restoration, they will be toured in several cities, accompanied by 120 preparatory studies executed by Portinari between 1952 and 1956.

On October 21, an exhibition with reproductions of the 25 works by Portinari that illustrate the FAPESP Activities Report 2009 was inaugurated at the Foundation's headquarters in São Paulo. On the occasion, João Candido gave the following interview to Agência FAPESP:

The Portinari Project digitized practically all of his father's works. What difficulties were encountered in carrying out the survey of such an extensive body of work?
It is indeed an extensive body of work. We managed to catalogue more than 5,000 works. This number corresponded to the estimate we had, before starting the work, that he would have produced one work every three days, on average, for about 40 years, including the large panels and murals that took several months or years to complete. When we began the survey, the situation was dramatic, since the whereabouts of most of the works were unknown, there was no museum, no catalogue and the books about his life and work were out of print. It was a detective work that took many years, because this is a work scattered not only in private collections in Brazil, but in several countries. We found works in the Americas, in Finland, in the former Czechoslovakia, in Canada, in South Africa, in Israel, in Haiti and in many other countries.

How long did this process take?
This phase of tracking, locating, cataloguing and digitising took an entire year. The project’s first 20 years were largely spent on the project. It was an adventure that was only successful thanks to the solidarity of Brazilian society. This immense work was not limited to surveying the works; we were also able to gather more than 30,000 documents.

What is the nature of this documentation?
All types of documents, including 9,000 letters that Portinari exchanged with intellectuals and artists of his time, such as Mario de Andrade, Manuel Bandeira, Graciliano Ramos, José Lins do Rego, Luís Carlos Prestes, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Cecília Meirelles, Jorge Amado, Carlos Drummond de Andrade and many others. It is an extraordinary treasure. In addition, we have 12,000 newspaper clippings from 1920 to the present day. In addition to compiling this material, we also produced new documents. We produced an oral history program that, over the years, interviewed 74 of Portinari’s contemporaries. This resulted in 130 hours of video recordings, which are not limited to commenting on Portinari or art, but also address aesthetic, cultural, social and political concerns of that generation. All of this is embodied in a website, where anyone can find all the documentation.

Does the Portinari Project have a physical headquarters or is it focused on the virtual universe?
Our headquarters are at PUC-RJ, in Rio de Janeiro, but you are right in saying that it is primarily virtual. The project could be anywhere, since we do not have any original works; we only gather the content and research on the artist. In the future, we plan to create a Portinari Museum, where the public could have access to all of the artist's work in one place. We would do this with high-definition printed reproductions. We believe that gathering high-quality reproductions of the 5,000 works would be cheaper than creating a museum with only ten original works. This is what FAPESP did with the exhibition of reproductions currently on display at its headquarters.

Can we say that, in relation to the size of his work, Portinari is little known?
Yes, this was one of the main motivations for the project and it is also what inspires our dream of one day having a Portinari Museum. My father used to say that his work was dedicated to the people, but its fate was the victim of a perverse irony: today, the people do not have access to his work, which is scattered across private collections and museums in various parts of the planet. This prompted Antonio Callado to question: “segregated in private collections, in bank rooms, Candinho is becoming invisible. Will our greatest painter continue to be dismembered, like Tiradentes who painted?”

With the completion of the cataloging and digitalization of the works, has the Portinari Project fulfilled its mission?
No, on the contrary, we believe that the real work began from the moment we had all the content collected, cataloged, cross-referenced and thoroughly researched. Since then, we have been developing a series of actions. The most important of these is the work with children, carried out over the last 13 years: Portinari’s Brazil.

How is this work developed?
We visit schools, cultural centers and city halls in all Brazilian states. We also visit hospitals, riverside communities and prisons. But the priority is to present the work to children. For example, we carried out an excursion in the Pantanal, welcoming children for an exhibition on a boat. In 2009, we partnered with the Navy and traveled the Amazon and its tributaries, spending 19 days on the Purus River. On the ships, residents of very poor villages come into contact with Portinari's work and receive medical and dental care, obtain documents, and other activities.

How do children react?
Sometimes children have a much sharper visual perception than adults. They get very involved and immediately understand what the painter is saying. The result has been an extraordinary success. We try to encourage children to reflect critically on the reality of the world. The idea is to put them in contact with Portinari's work and its powerful message of non-violence, fraternity, solidarity, compassion, and respect for the sacredness of life. None of this would be possible with a work that did not have the strength of Portinari's work.

Can we say that the strength of Portinari's work comes from his concern for social issues?
Yes, and that is very interesting. My father's work was characterized by an incessant experimentalism – to the point that critics say that there are a dozen different painters in his work. But the theme is always the same: a profound social concern. He changed his style and form of expression. He gave importance to technique, saying that without it it is impossible to express what is in the soul, but he emphasized that his theme was man. This desire is invariably present in his work, desire for solidarity and compassion.

Is the excluded the central character in the painter's work?
The excluded is an absolutely central character. He lived in a coffee-growing region in the interior of São Paulo that was a passageway for migrants coming from the Northeast. This left an indelible impression on the retinas of that boy who witnessed the tragedy of the families traveling in inhumane conditions. This experience awakened in him, at a very early age, a feeling of unconditional solidarity with the excluded. I would say that this feeling of solidarity – and of revolt and denunciation against violence and injustice – is one of the most fundamental characteristics for understanding Portinari. This focus on exclusion would find its ultimate synthesis in his last work, the monumental panels War and Peace. There, the excluded is the entire human species, subjected to the scourge of war and excluded from peace.

What are the other important themes in Portinari?
Based on this axis of concern with social exclusion, his themes are very broad, addressing universal issues and also providing a great portrait of Brazil. Something that few people know, for example, is that Portinari was one of the greatest sacred painters in the world. It is extraordinary how many times he painted Christ and biblical scenes. A sacred production that led Alceu Amoroso Lima – a great Catholic thinker – to raise an intriguing paradox: how could a communist painter like Portinari paint sacred paintings with such fervor.

Is this really a paradox?
Amoroso Lima himself concluded that there was no paradox when he went to Brodowsky, Portinari's hometown, to visit his home. Knowing the painter's mother, grandmother and aunts, he understood that they were a typical Italian matriarchal family, devout Catholics. And he realized that there was no contradiction: Portinari was a man of ancestral mysticism and he never abandoned it. He refused to follow the directives of the Russian Communist Party, which stated that socialist painters should follow the canons of socialist realism. Luis Carlos Prestes, who was his friend, had the greatness to perceive this dimension and not place any restrictions on my father's membership in the Communist Party.

Besides the religious theme, what is most present in his work?
By taking the side of the underprivileged, Portinari became one of the greatest painters of black people in the Americas. This was said by Assis Chateaubriand, who wrote a text about the presence of Africa in my father's work: “Portinari is the greatest and most fantastic painter of black people that the human species has ever seen. He feels Africa with its magic, its mysteries, its voluptuousness, like no other artist with the brush”. Childhood is also a recurring theme. Childhood is present in his poetic, lyrical work. Because it is a childhood in the interior of Brazil, which, despite being poor, is spent under the stars, in the woods, playing in the street, with animals. This is very rich in his work, imbued with poetry. Another element is work. The worker is a theme that runs through his entire career. All of this was approached in a way that always presents a dialectic between drama and poetry, between fury and tenderness, and between the tragic and the lyrical. We can see this dialectic at any point in Portinari's career.

You are a researcher in the field of telecommunications engineering. What was your academic career like? Do you still work in the field?
I studied mathematics in France and there I took the exam for engineering schools and graduated in telecommunications. I completed my doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), still in the field of electrical engineering, but with my interest once again focused on mathematics. After finishing my doctorate, after ten years away from Brazil, in 1966 I was invited by PUC in Rio de Janeiro to help create its Mathematics Department. I was 28 years old. The following year I became the director of the department and spent 13 years completely absorbed in research, teaching and administration. In 1979 we conceived the Portinari Project. I quickly realized that it would be impossible to reconcile the two activities, because the project was unfolding and, unfortunately, I had to give up mathematics.

War and Peace in Brazil – Interview with João Cândido Portinari

Interview with Fala Cultura

Fifty-four years ago, Cândido Portinari’s most powerful work – the panels War and Peace – left Brazil on its way to its permanent home: the headquarters of the United Nations, in New York.

Now, for the first time in more than half a century, the people – first of Brazil, and then of the world – will be able to see in person all the human strength, and the great message of hope and peace painted on the large panels. Thanks to the work of the Portinari Project, the work will tour several cities until 2013, when it will be returned to the UN.

War and Peace are two panels by approximately 14 by 10 meters each, painted in oil on naval plywood. While one represents all the evils and horrors of war, the second represents an ethereal and hopeful vision of times of peace, creating an expressive contrast.

The work was commissioned by the Brazilian government as a gift to the UN, and received four years of dedication from Cândido Portinari – who worked tirelessly to complete them, despite already knowing that he was being poisoned by the toxins present in his paints.

Unfortunately, Portinari was unable to witness the inauguration of the panels in New York – due to his involvement with the Communist Party, he was prevented from entering the USA, which was in the midst of the Cold War.

For security reasons, the lobby of the UN building, where the panels were installed, is an area largely inaccessible to the public. However, now, with the announcement of a major renovation of the United Nations building, an unprecedented opportunity has arisen to exhibit the panels in other countries.

In 2010, War and Peace finally arrived in Brazil. They remained on display at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro – which was reminiscent of the ceremony held before the panels left for New York in 1956, at the same theater. In 12 days, the exhibition attracted more than 44 thousand visitors.

Starting tomorrow (7), it will be São Paulo's turn to see the grand work. The chosen location is the Salão dos Atos, at the Memorial da América Latina. In addition to the panels – which will be on display for the first time after their restoration – the public will be able to enjoy 100 original preparatory studies for the creation of the work. The exhibition will remain open until April 21.

To mark this remarkable moment in the visual arts of our country, we spoke exclusively with João Cândido Portinari, son of Cândido Portinari and director of the Portinari Project. Check it out:

I imagine that the process of bringing War and Peace to Brazil must have been quite complicated, both due to the size of the work and the negotiations involved. Tell us a little about how all this work went.
Well, the whole process began ten years ago, in 2002. We were preparing for the celebrations of Portinari's Centennial, which would be the following year [2003], and this idea came up of exhibiting the preparatory studies together with the panels, there at the United Nations headquarters.
It turns out that the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were very recent, they had only happened the year before, and the security regulations were stricter. So we realized that it would be unfeasible to hold the exhibition in that space.
In 2007, I returned to New York to deliver the book on War and Peace to each of the UN delegates. These were a way of taking the panels out of the “closet” and bringing them to light again.

Bringing them to light?
Exactly. The panels live a paradox. They are “invisible”, inaccessible to the public.
You know that traditionally, it is Brazilians who open UN sessions with a speech. I researched and read each of these speeches, and none of them mentioned War and Peace. It was only in 2007 that President Lula ended his speech at the United Nations with a quote from the work.
“Upon entering this building, delegates can see a work of art that Brazil presented to the United Nations 50 years ago. These are the murals ‘War’ and ‘Peace’, painted by the great artist Cândido Portinari (…) The artist’s message is simple but powerful: transforming afflictions into hope, war into peace, is the essence of the United Nations mission. Brazil will continue to work to make this lofty expectation a reality.” (Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in a speech at the UN in 2007)
War and Peace proves that Portinari does not work with the abstract; the work conveys a very strong ethical message that remains relevant today, perhaps even more valid than ever.

And when did the idea of ​​bringing the panels to Brazil come about?
When I went to the UN in 2007 to deliver the books to the delegates, I learned about the renovation of the building, which would take place from 2009 to 2013. As soon as I returned to Brazil, I realized that this would be a unique opportunity for us to secure custody of the panels during the renovation period.
We contacted the government, and Minister Celso Amorim made an official request to the UN. Of course, in order for us to secure custody of War and Peace, they made many demands, such as the restoration of the panels and insurance. In this process, the support of the government was essential, and especially the commitment of Vice President José de Alencar.
We were able to meet all the requirements, and on December 22, 2010, we held a ceremony at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro. This ceremony reminded me a lot of the inaugural ceremony of 1956, which I attended, which was also at the Municipal Theater and was attended by President Juscelino Kubitchek.
After the brief exhibition at the Municipal Theater, which attracted more than 44 thousand visitors, the work was restored in an open studio, also in Rio de Janeiro. Now, in São Paulo, it will be the first time that it will be exhibited together with the preparatory studies.

And what about the Portinari Project? The difficulty faced in maintaining the legacies of Brazilian artists is a recurring topic – and, in this scenario, the Portinari Project is an example of success. What is the secret, in your opinion?
We have been working on the Project for 33 years now, and it is a struggle to keep it going. Support for culture in Brazil is still complicated. But we have already achieved great things: for example, we have cataloged 5,200 works and 30,000 documents related to Portinari, and we have made a large part of this material available on the Portinari Project website, which is open, free and widely consulted.
“War and Peace brings a very strong ethical message, which remains current, perhaps even more valid than ever.” I think that one factor that has helped a lot in the continuity of the Project is the natural solidarity of Brazilians. We have always found a lot of support, both in bringing Guerra e Paz and in others, which was essential.
Another determining factor is that the Portinari Project was born and raised at the university. Interestingly, many projects are not part of the university. But this proximity to the university environment allows for constant innovation; we are always in touch with all the latest developments, including science and technology that can be applied to our project.

Just to wrap up our interview, is there any message you would like to leave our readers in São Paulo, about what they can expect from the exhibition that starts tomorrow?
I hope they don't miss it, because it is very exciting. They will certainly leave the exhibition carrying this message of humanity, and with a broader vision.

A historic and unique moment

Together with assistants, Portinari paints the panels "War" and "Peace", in the TV Tupi warehouse, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1955.
Globo Comunicação e Participações S.A.

“The War and Peace panels represent without a doubt the best work I have ever done. I dedicate them to humanity”.
Candido Portinari.

The phrase, said by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari (1903-1962), attempts to explain the grandeur of the panels that are on display at the Memorial da América Latina, in São Paulo, until May 20, 2012. Each of the murals is 14 meters high by 10 meters wide and weighs more than 1 ton, but the grandeur of the works cannot be measured only by the size of the panels, but also by the touching message of peace that they send to the world.

“This is not just an art exhibition. This is a great ethical and humanist message that addresses the main problem that the world is experiencing today: the issue of violence, non-citizenship, and social injustice. This is the great message of Portinari's entire life, which was summarized in these final works that he left behind", said João Candido Portinari.

João Candido, the artist's son, is responsible for the project, which brought the works to Brazil.

Completed in 1956, the works remain relevant today. The expressions of suffering of the mothers in the panel that shows The War, for example, can be compared to photos of mothers who recently suffered in the conflict in Syria. According to João Candido, this comparison was made by a professor from Uberlândia (MG) who visited the exhibition and sent him, by email, a photomontage comparing the Syrian mother to Portinari's painting.

“She was in a position of despair absolutely identical to that of a woman who was in the War panel”, said João Candido.

All the work that resulted in War and Peace was produced by Candido Portinari between 1952 and 1956. The work was commissioned by the Brazilian government as a gift to the headquarters of the United Nations (UN), in New York, where the panels were installed in the entrance hall, with restricted access to the public.

A major renovation of the UN headquarters building, which began in 2010, provided the unprecedented opportunity to bring these panels to Brazil. The first stage of the exhibition took place in Rio de Janeiro, in December 2010, bringing together more than 44 thousand visitors. In São Paulo, more than 150,000 people have already visited War and Peace. Until 2014, the works will be on display around the world, until they return permanently to the UN headquarters. The immense panels could only be transported because War and Peace consists of a kind of jigsaw puzzle, made up of 28 sheets of naval plywood. In Brazil, the works underwent a process of reconstruction, carried out between February and May 2011 at the Gustavo Capanema Palace, in Rio de Janeiro.

With War and Peace, 100 preparatory studies are also being exhibited, in addition to historical documents such as letters, newspaper clippings and photographs that tell, in detail, the creation of the panels.

João Candido was only 13 years old when his father began the work.

“I saw an act of heroism. Of course, at that time I was not in a position to perceive this. I only saw a man who painted from morning until night, in extremely arduous conditions. He worked in a warehouse that was an old television studio, loaned by Rádio Tupi, without windows, with a zinc roof and where the temperature reached 45 degrees Celsius. He drank lemonade all the time to try to survive,” he recalls.

According to João Candido, his father spent four years studying for the works and painted them in just nine months.

War and Peace were the last two and largest panels created by Portinari. While he was doing the preparatory study for the two panels, doctors advised him to stop painting because of the poisoning process caused by the paints. Portinari rejected the medical advice.

“It was fatal. There was that medical prohibition, which he did not respect. But he could not fail to convey the greatest message of his life, that of peace,” said his son.

On February 6, 1962, Portinari died as a result of poisoning by the lead present in the paints he used.

The gigantic size of the works impresses the public. Retired teacher Nilsa Papaleo visited the exhibition last Friday (11).

“I am delighted to see how one person can create art of this size. I was amazed [to learn] how they transported it, since it is a huge panel. And then they explained to me that it is like a puzzle, all divided, that they disassemble. It is very beautiful, impactful”, she said to Agência Brasil. For her, the works present the society in which we live. “And it continues the same way”.

Doctor Luiz Martinelli had already seen the work at the UN.

“But seeing it here is different. We are at home. In our country it is different. It is more enjoyable”, she said. “Personally, I like Peace the most. I am for peace”, she joked. “In War, we see people suffering. It is a more shocking image. Peace is always more beautiful.”

After receiving a tip from a teacher, who said that the work was from the UN, student Pablo de Lima Almeida decided to go to the exhibition with a group of friends. He told Agência Brasil that he liked the panel that portrays peace the most. “It’s more beautiful,” he said.

Retiree Cristina Figueiredo, who has always enjoyed art, decided to visit the exhibition before it ended. According to her, the impact of the works is great.

“I had seen Picasso’s Guernica, which is also impressive. But this one has our colors, Brazilian colors, which is very important to me,” she said, remembering the current relevance of the work. “I read somewhere that he (Portinari) portrays war as something that has always belonged to humanity. He doesn’t portray a (single) war, as is the case with Guernica, which deals with the Spanish Civil War. It portrays the war that has always existed in humanity and that, unfortunately, continues to exist,” he said.

This great message from artist Candido Portinari to the world, the immense panels that make up the work War and Peace, should remain in Brazil for a longer time than expected. At the Memorial da América Latina, in São Paulo, where it is currently on display, the exhibition has been extended until May 20, with free admission. After that, it should head to the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (MG), before crossing the ocean, probably heading to Norway and China.

Elaine Patricia Cruz
Reporter for Agência Brasil - 05/13/2012 - 4:23 pm. Edition: Fábio Massalli
More information about the exhibition can be found at www.guerraepaz.org.br
War and Peace, Portinari's great message to the world, was on display in SP until May 20, 2012.

Main characteristics of Candido Portinari's works

He portrayed social issues in Brazil;
He used some artistic elements of European modern art;
His works of art reflect influences from surrealism, cubism and the art of Mexican muralists;
Figurative art, valuing the traditions of painting.

Main works by Candido Portinari

Environment
Coffee pickers
Mestizo
Favelas
The Coffee Farmer
The shoemaker of Brodósqui
Boys and spinning tops
Washerwomen
Groups of girls playing
Boy with sheep
Rural scene
The first mass in Brazil
Saint Francis of Assisi
The Retirants

Chronology, Exhibitions and Awards

1910 ca. - He undertakes his first studies in a rural school in Brodósqui, São Paulo
1913 ca. - He begins painting, helping to decorate the main church in Brodósqui
1918/1962 - He takes up residence in Rio de Janeiro
1919 - Studies at the Lyceum of Arts and Crafts of Rio de Janeiro
1919/1928 - Studies at the National School of Fine Arts (Enba), where he studies figurative drawing with Lucílio de Albuquerque (1885-1962) and painting with Rodolfo Amoedo (1857-1941), Baptista da Costa (1865-1926). In his later years he was a student of Rodolfo Chambelland (1879-1967)
1929/1930 - With the prize for a trip abroad, which he received at the 35th General Exhibition of Fine Arts, he left for Paris. He visited England, Italy and Spain, visiting museums and galleries. He met the painters Van Dongene and Othon Friesz
1936 - He executed the first mural for the Road Monument, on the Rio-São Paulo highway
1936/1938 - He occupied the chair of mural and easel painting at the Art Institute of the University of the Federal District, Rio de Janeiro, organized by Anísio Teixeira. Among his students, Burle Marx (1909-1994) and Edith Behring (1916-1996) stand out,  
1938 - He is invited by Minister Gustavo Capanema (1902-1998) to paint a series of frescoes for the new building of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Rio de Janeiro, designed by Lucio Costa (1902-1998)
1939 - He executes three panels for the Brazilian pavilion at the New York World's Fair
1939 - He joins the São Paulo Artistic Family (FAP)
1940 - The Academic Magazine dedicates a special issue to him with reproductions of his works and statements about the artist
1940 - The University of Chicago publishes the first book about the artist, Portinari: His Life and Art, with an introduction by the artist Rockwell Kent
1940/1959 - Illustrates the books The Absent Woman, by Adalgisa Nery (1940); Maria Rosa, by Vera Kelsey (1942); Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas and The Alienist, by Machado de Assis (1943 and 1948); The Jungle, by Ferreira de Castro (1955); Menino de Engenho, by José Lins do Rego (1959); The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene (1959); Terre Promisse and Rose de Septembre, by Andre Maurois, and Antologia Poética, by Nicolas Guillén (1961), among others
1941 - Executes frescoes for the Hispanic Foundation of the American Library of Congress, Washington D.C. 
1942/1943 - Paints the Biblical Series for Rádio Tupi, São Paulo 
1943 - Executes new murals for the Ministry of Education and designs the tiles for the building's exterior decoration
1944 - Creates a mural and tiles about the life of Saint Francis for the Pampulha Chapel, Belo Horizonte. The following year, he performed the Stations of the Cross for the same church. 1944 - He created 40 costumes and five screens for the ballet Iara, by the Original Ballet Russe company, whose staging was prohibited by the Department of Press and Propaganda (DIP) 1945 and 1947 - He ran for deputy and senator for the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), but was not elected 1946 - He received the Legion of Honor from the French government 1947/1948 - With the revocation of the PCB, to which he was affiliated, by the Brazilian government, he traveled to Montevideo to escape the persecution of communists 1948 - He painted, in tempera, the panel The First Mass in Brazil, for the Banco Boavista in Rio de Janeiro 1949 - He painted the mural Tiradentes 1950 - He received the gold medal awarded by the jury of the International Peace Prize for the panel Tiradentes (1949)
1952/1956 - Executes the panels War and Peace, for the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in New York
1953 - Paints a series of canvases for the main church in the city of Batatais, São Paulo
1954 - Executes a panel dedicated to the Founders of the State of São Paulo for the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo
1954 - Creates, for the Banco Português do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, the panel Discovery of Brazil
1955 - Receives the gold medal awarded by the International Fine Arts Council, New York, as the best painter of the year
1956 - Travels to Israel at the invitation of the Association of Museums and the Brazil-Israel Cultural Center. He draws landscapes and people from the regions he travels through, gathered in the album Israel, published by Editora Abrahams and industrialist Eugênio Luraghi. 1956 - On the occasion of the inauguration of his panels at the UN headquarters, he receives the Guggenheim Prize. 1957 - Receives an honorable mention in the International Watercolor Competition, Hallmark Art Award, New York. 1957 - Begins writing the memoir Retalhos de Minha Vida de Infância. 1958 - Is invited to receive the Golden Star, Brussels, Belgium. 1958 - Writes a book of poems edited by José Olympio in 1964, with introductory texts by Antonio Callado (1917-1997) and Manuel Bandeira (1886-1968). 1959 - Paints the mural Inconfidência Mineira for Banco Hipotecário e Agrícola de Minas Gerais S/A, Rio de Janeiro. January
1960 - Executes panels for the Bank of Boston, São Paulo
1970 - The artist's former residence in Brodósqui is transformed into the Portinari House Museum
1974 - Launch in Geneva of four commemorative stamps reproducing details of the War and Peace panels
1979 - João Candido, the painter's son, implements the Portinari Project, which brings together a vast documentary collection on the artist's work, life and times. The Portinari Project is based on the PUC/RJ Campus. 2003 - The show Porti-Nari: The Opera was performed at the Sesc Ipiranga Theater, São Paulo, in honor of the artist's centenary. Collections Itaú S.A. Bank Collection - São Paulo SP Itaúsa Collection - Itaú Investments S.A. - São Paulo SP Collection of the São Paulo State Art Gallery - São Paulo SP Visual Arts Collection of the Institute of Brazilian Studies - IEB/USP - São Paulo SP Central Bank of Brazil Collection - Brasília DF Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection - MAM/RJ - Rio de Janeiro RJ Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo - MAC/USP - São Paulo SP Latin America Memorial Foundation - São Paulo SP
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi - Belo Horizonte MG
Library of Congress - Washington (United States)
National Museum of Fine Arts - Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Museum of Modern Art - MoMA - New York (United States)
São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand Museum of Art - Masp - São Paulo SP
National Museum of Fine Arts - MNBA - Rio de Janeiro RJ
United Nations - UN - New York (United States)
Gustavo Capanema Palace - Rio de Janeiro RJ
Itamaraty Palace - Brasília DF

Solo Exhibitions

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1929 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Candido Portinari: painting, at the Palace Hotel
1931 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the Palace Hotel
1932 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the Palace Hotel
1933 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the Palace Hotel
1934 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the Palace Hotel
1934 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at Rua Barão de Itapetininga, nº 6
1935 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the Palace Hotel
1936 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the Palace Hotel
1939 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Candido Portinari: retrospective, at the MNBA
1940 - North Carolina (United States) - National Art Week: Portinari, at the University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill
1940 - Detroit (United States) - Solo, at The Detroit Institute of Arts
1940 - New York (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at the Riverside Museum
1940 - New York (United States) - Portinari of Brazil, at MoMA
1941 - Chapel Hill (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at the Person Hall Art Gallery
1941 - Denver (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at the Denver Art Museum
1941 - Grand Rapids (United States) - Murals by Candido Portinari, at the Grand Rapids Art Gallery
1941 - Indianapolis (United States) - Murals by Candido Portinari, at the John Herron Art Museum
1941 - Kansas City (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art
1941 - Minneapolis (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at The Minneapolis Institute of Art
1941 - New Orleans (United States) - Murals by Candido Portinari, at the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art
1941 - Newport News (United States) - Individual, at the Hampton Woman's Club House
1941 - Pittsburg (United States) - Murals by Candido Portinari, at the Carneggie Institute
1941 - Saint Louis (United States) - Murals by Candido Portinari, at the Saint Louis Art Museum
1941 - San Francisco (United States) - Murals by Candido Portinari, at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
1941 - Syracuse (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at the Museum of Fine Art
1941 - Terre Haute (United States) - Candido Portinari's Exhibition, at the Indiana State Teachers
1941 - Washington (United States) United States) - Solo exhibition, at the Howard University Gallery of Art
1943 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Candido Portinari Painting Exhibition, at the MNBA
1944 - Washington (United States) - Paintings by Candido Portinari of Brazil: first anniversary exhibition, at The Barnett Aden Gallery
1946 - Paris (France) - Candido Portinari: retrospective National Museum of Art in Paris
1946 - Paris (France) - Solo exhibition, at the Galerie Charpentier
1947 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Solo exhibition, at the Salón Peuser
1947 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Portinari Exhibition, at the Salon of the National Commission of Fine Arts
1947 - Washington (United States) - Portinari of Brazil, at the Pan American Union Gallery
1948 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Oils, Monotypes and Drawings by Candido Portinari, at the Argentine Hebrew Society
1948 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Solis Theater
1948 - São Paulo SP - Portinari: 1920-1948, at Masp
1949 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of the Mural Tiradentes by Candido Portinari, at MAM/RJ
1949 - São Paulo SP - Exhibition of the Mural Tiradentes by Candido Portinari, at MAM/SP
1952 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Arrival of D. João VI in Bahia, at the Automobile Club of Brazil
1953 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at MAM/RJ
1954 - Salvador BA - Portinari: exhibition commemorating the painter's fiftieth birthday, at Galeria Oxumaré
1954 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Masp
1956 - Ein Harod (Israel) - Portinari: paintings and drawings 1940-1956, at the Museum of Ein Harod
1956 - Haifa (Israel) - Portinari: paintings and drawings 1940-1956, at the Museum of Modern Art
1956 - Jerusalem (Israel) - Candido Portinari: oil paintings and drawings 1940-1956, at The Bezalel National Art Museum
1956 - Jerusalem (Israel) - Portinari: paintings and drawings 1940-1956, at The Bezalel National Art Museum
1956 - Tel Aviv (Israel) - Portinari: paintings and drawings 1940-1956, at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
1957 - Cologne (Germany) - Individual, at the Haus der Kulturinstitute
1957 - Munich (Germany) - Individual, at the Haus der Kulturinstitute
1957 - Paris (France) - Individual, at the Maison de La Pensée Française
1957 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Portinari's War and Peace: panels for the UN, at the Theatro Municipal
1958 - Belo Horizonte MG - Israel: Portinari's drawings, at the MAP
1958 - Bologna (Italy) - Israel: Portinari's drawings, at the Galleria del Librario
1958 - Lima (Peru) - Israel: Portinari's drawings, at the Art Institute Contemporary
1958 - Porto Alegre RS - Portinari Exhibition, at Margs
1958 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Israel: Portinari drawings, at MAM/RJ
1958 - São Paulo SP - Israel: Portinari drawings, at MAM/SP
1959 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Israel: Portinari drawings, at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
1959 - Moscow (Soviet Union, now Russia) - Portinari Exhibition, at the House of Friendship with Foreign Peoples
1959 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the Wildenstein Gallery
1960 - Bratislava (Czecholoswachia, now Slovakia) - Solo, at the Galerie Nacionale
1960 - Brno (Czecholoswachia, now Czech Republic) - Solo, at the Kunsthaus
1960 - Moscow (Soviet Union, now Russia) - Candido Portinari: photographic exhibition of 70 works by the painter, at the House of Friendship with Foreign Peoples
1960 - Prague (Czecholaswachia, now Czech Republic) - Solo, at Galerie Manes
1960 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Portinari Exhibition, at Galeria Bonino
1961 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Bonino
1961 - São Paulo SP - Portinari: 58 drawings, at the House of the Plastic Artist

Collective Exhibitions

1922 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 29th General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba - honorable mention
1923 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 30th General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba - bronze medal and acquisition prize
1924 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 2nd Spring Salon, at the Liceu de Arts and Crafts
1924 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 31st General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba
1925 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 32nd General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba - small silver medal
1925 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 3rd Spring Salon, at the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios
1926 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 33rd General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba - large silver medal
1927 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 34th General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba - travel prize abroad
1928 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 35th General Exhibition of Fine Arts, at Enba
1929 - Rosario (Argentina) - 11th Salon of Rosario, at the Comisión Municipal de Bellas Artes
1930 - Paris (France) - Exposition d'Art Brésilien, at Foyer Brésilien
1931 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Revolutionary Salon, at Enba
1933 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 3rd Pro-Art Salon, at Enba
1933 - São Paulo SP - 2nd SPAM Exhibition of Modern Art, at Palacete Campinas
1934 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 4th Pro-Art Salon, at Enba
1935 - Pittsburgh (United States) - The 1935 International Exhibition of Painting, at the Carnegie Institute - 2nd honorable mention award for the painting Café
1935 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of Social Art, at the Modern Culture Club
1935 - São Paulo SP - 2nd Paulista Salon of Fine Arts
1936 - Cleveland (United States) - The 1935 International Exhibition of Painting
1936 - Toledo (United States) - European Section of the Thirty-Third Carnegie International Exhibition of Paintings, at The Toledo Museum of Art
1937 - São Paulo SP - 1st May Salon, at the Esplanada Hotel in São Paulo
1939 - New York (United States) - Art in Our Time, at MoMA
1939 - New York (United States) - Brazilian Pavilion, at the New York World's Fair
1939 - São Paulo SP - 2nd Salon of the Paulista Artistic Family, at the Automobile Club
1940 - New York (United States) - 2nd Latin America Exhibition of Fine Arts, at the Riverside Museum
1940 - New York (United States) - Exhibiton of Modern Paintings, Drawings and Primitive African Sculpture from the Collection of Helena Rubinstein, at The Mayflower Hotel
1940 - Washington (United States) - Exhibition of Modern Paintings, Drawings and Primitive African Sculpture from the Collection of Helena Rubinstein, at The Mayflower Hotel on the Park
1941 - São Paulo SP - 1st Art Salon of the National Industry Fair, at Parque da Água Branca
1942 - Milwaukee (United States) - Festival of Latin American Art, at the Milwaukee Art Center
1943 - São Paulo SP - Anti-Axis Exhibition, at the Prestes Maia Gallery
1943 - London (England) - Brazilian Art Exhibition, at Burlington House
1943 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Anti-Axis Exhibition, at the Itamaraty Palace. Historical and Diplomatic Museum
1944 - Belo Horizonte MG - Exhibition of Modern Art, at the Mariana Building
1944 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Portinari and De Chirico, at the Comte Gallery
1944 - Chicago (United States) - Art of the United Nations, at The Art Institute of Chicago
1944 - London (England) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the Royal Academy of Art
1944 - Norwich (England) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the Norwich Castle and Museum
1944 - New York (United States) - Art in Progress, at the MoMA
1945 - Baht (England) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the Victory Art Gallery
1945 - Bristol (England) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery
1945 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - 20 Artists Brasileños, at the Salones Nacionales de Exposición
1945 - Edinburgh (Scotland) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the National Gallery
1945 - Glasgow (Scotland) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the Kelingrove Art Gallery
1945 - La Plata (Argentina) - 20 Brazilian Artists, at the Museo Provincial de Bellas Arts
1945 - Manchester (England) - Exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings, at the Manchester Art Gallery Brazilian artists, at the University of Santiago do Chile
1946 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Charity Exhibition, at IAB/RJ
1946 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Painters go to the People's School, at Enba
1950 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - A Century of Brazilian Painting: 1850-1950, at MNBA
1950 - Bahia - A Century of Brazilian Painting: 1850-1950
1950 - Paraíba - A Century of Brazilian Painting: 1850-1950
1950 - Pernambuco - A Century of Brazilian Painting: 1850-1950
1950 - Venice (Italy) - 25th Venice Biennale
1951 - São Paulo SP - 1st International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Trianon Pavilion
1952 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of Brazilian Artists, at MAM/RJ
1954 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Black and White Hall, at the Palace of Culture
1954 - Warsaw (Poland) - Exhibition on the Struggle of the Peoples for Peace
1954 - Venice (Italy) - 27th Venice Biennale
1955 - Porto Alegre RS - Contemporary Brazilian Art, at Margs
1955 - San Francisco (United States) - Art in the 20th Century, at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
1955 - São Paulo SP - 3rd International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Pavilhão das Nações
1957 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Modern Art in Brazil, at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
1957 - Lima (Peru) - Modern Art in Brazil, at the Museo de Arte de Lima
1957 - New York (United States) - Guggenheim International Award: 1956, at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1957 - Rosario (Argentina) - Modern Art in Brazil, at Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes Juan B. Castagnino
1957 - Santiago (Chile) - Modern Art in Brazil, at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
1958 - Brussels (Belgium) - 50 Years of Modern Art, at Palais des Beaux-Arts
1958 - Mexico City (Mexico) - 1st International Biennial of Mexico - Ciudad de Mexico Prize
1958 - New York (United States) - Paintings and Sculpture and Folk Art from Thirty-Nine Member Countries of the United Nations, at The Festival Galleries
1958 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of Works and Projects of the New Capital, at the Ministry of Education and Sports
1959 - Amsterdam (Holland) - First Exhibition Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Barcelona (Spain) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Basel (Switzerland) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Leverkusen (Germany) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - London (United Kingdom) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Milan (Italy) - International Exhibition of Sacred Art
1959 - Milan (Italy) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Rome (Italy) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1959 - Munich (Germany) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe, at the Kunsthaus
1959 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 30 Years of Brazilian Art, at the Gallery Macunaíma
1959 - São Paulo SP - 5th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Ciccilo Matarazzo Sobrinho Pavilion
1959 - Vienna (Austria) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Hamburg (Germany) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Lisbon (Portugal) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Madrid (Spain) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Paris (France) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1960 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Inaugural Exhibition, at Galeria Bonino
1960 - São Paulo SP - Leirner Collection, at Galeria de Arte das Folhas
1960 - Utrecht (Holland) - First Collective Exhibition of Brazilian Artists in Europe
1962 - Casablanca (Morocco) - Exhibition of Brazilian Artists
1962 - Rabat (Morocco) - Exhibition of Artists Brazilians
1962 - Tangier (Morocco) - Exhibition of Brazilian Artists

Posthumous Exhibitions

1962 - São Paulo SP - Selection of Works of Brazilian Art from the Ernesto Wolf Collection, at MAM/SP
1963 - Brodósqui SP - Homage to Portinari, at the Parish House of the church at Largo Candido Portinari
1963 - Campinas SP - Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, at the Carlos Gomes Museum
1963 - Milan (Italy) - Mostra di Candido Portinari, at the Pallazzo Reale
1963 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st Resumo de Arte JB, in Jornal do Brasil
1963 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Landscape as a Theme, at the Ibeu Copacabana Gallery
1964 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Small Size Exhibition, at the Bonino Gallery
1966 - Austin (United States) - Art of Latin America since Independence, at The University of Texas at Austin. Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery
1966 - Belo Horizonte MG - 2nd Circulating Exhibition of Works from the MAC/USP Collection, at the Belo Horizonte City Hall Art Museum
1966 - Curitiba PR - 2nd Circulating Exhibition of Works from the MAC/USP Collection
1966 - New Haven (United States) - Art of Latin America since Independence, at The Yale University Art Gallery
1966 - New Orleans (United States) - Art of Latin America since Independence, at the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art
1966 - Porto Alegre RS - 2nd Circulating Exhibition of Works from the MAC/USP Collection, at the Rio Grande do Sul Art Museum
1966 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Self-Portraits, at the Ibeu Copacabana Gallery
1966 - San Diego (United States) - Art of Latin America since Independence, at the La Jolla Museum of Art
1966 - San Francisco (United States) - Art of Latin America since Independence, at the San Francisco art Museum
1966 - São Paulo SP - Half a Century of New Art, at the MAC/USP
1970 - São Paulo SP - One Hundred Masterpieces by Portinari, at the Masp
1972 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Individual, at the MNBA
1972 - São Paulo SP - The Week of 22: antecedents and consequences, at the Masp
1974 - Geneva (Switzerland) - Portinari: l'art aux nations unies, at the Palais des Nations
1975 - São Paulo SP - SPAM and CAM, at the Lasar Segall Museum
1976 - São Paulo SP - The Salons: of the Paulista Artistic Family, of May and of the Union of Visual Artists of São Paulo, at Lasar Segall Museum
1976 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art: figures and movements, at the Galeria Arte Global
1979 - São Paulo SP - Portinari: studies for the panels of the Ministry of Education in Rio de Janeiro, at MAC/USP
1980 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Eighty Years of Brazilian Art, at Banco Itaú
1980 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 3rd National Salon of Visual Arts, at MNBA
1980 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Tribute to Mário Pedrosa, at the Jean Boghici Gallery
1980 - Santiago (Chile) - 20 Brazilian Painters, at the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts
1980 - São Paulo SP - One Hundred Masterpieces by Portinari, at Masp
1981 - Macéio AL - Brazilian Artists of the First Half of the 20th Century, at the Historical and Geographical Institute
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Universe of Carnival: images and reflections, at the Art Gallery Collection
1981 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Portinari: engraver, at the Brazilian Engraving Gallery
1982 - Bauru SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art
1982 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Brazil 60 Years of Modern Art: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the José de Azeredo Perdigão Center for Modern Art
1982 - London (England) - Brazil 60 Years of Modern Art: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Barbican Art Gallery
1982 - Marília SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art
1982 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Universe of Football, at MAM/RJ
1982 - Salvador BA - A Brazilian Art from the Odorico Tavares Collection, at the Carlos Costa Pinto Museum
1982 - São Paulo SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at MAB/Faap
1982 - São Paulo SP - From Modernism to the Biennial, at MAM/SP
1983 - Belo Horizonte MG - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at the Clovis Salgado Foundation. Palace of Arts
1983 - Campinas SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at MACC
1983 - Curitiba PR - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at MAC/PR
1983 - Olinda PE - 2nd Exhibition of the Rodrigues Collection of Visual Arts, at MAC/Olinda
1983 - Ribeirão Preto SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art
1983 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Self-Portraits, at the Banerj Art Gallery
1983 - Santo André SP - 80 Years of Brazilian Art, at the City Hall
1983 - São Paulo SP - Releitura Project, at the State Pinacoteca
1984 - Fortaleza CE - 7th National Salon of Plastic Arts
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 7th National Salon of Plastic Arts
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Portinari Illustrator, 2, at Ralph Camargo Art Consulting
1984 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Salon of 31, at Funarte
1984 - Salvador BA - Retrospective, at MAM/BA
1984 - São Paulo SP - Candido Portinari: Ralph Camargo collection, at Espaço Plano
1984 - São Paulo SP - Collection Gilberto Chateaubriand: portrait and self-portrait of Brazilian art, at MAM/SP
1984 - São Paulo SP - Tradition and Rupture: synthesis of Brazilian art and culture, at the Bienal Foundation
1985 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 8th National Salon of Visual Arts, at MAM/RJ
1985 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Portrait of the Collector in his Collection, at the Banerj Art Gallery
1985 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Black and White Salon: special room of the 8th National Salon of Visual Arts, at the Rodrigo Mello Franco de Andrade Gallery
1985 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Six Decades of Brazilian Art in the Roberto Marinho Collection, at the Paço Imperial
1985 - São Paulo SP - 100 Itaú Works, at Masp
1985 - São Paulo SP -18th International Biennial of São Paulo, at the Foundation Biennial
1986 - Curitiba PR - 7th Collection of the National Engraving Museum - House of Engraving, at the Guido Viaro Museum
1986 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Seven Decades of Italian Presence in Brazilian Art, at the Imperial Palace
1987 - Paris (France) - Modernity: Brazilian art of the 20th century, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
1987 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - To the Collector: tribute to Gilberto Chateaubriand, at MAM/RJ
1987 - São Paulo SP - Brazil Painted by National and Foreign Masters: 18th - 20th centuries, at Masp
1987 - São Paulo SP - The Craft of Art: painting, at Sesc
1988 - New York (United States) - The Latin American Spirit: art and artists in the United States: 1920-1970, at The Bronx Museum of the Arts
1988 - São Paulo SP - Brasiliana: o homem e a terra, at Pinacoteca do Estado
1988 - São Paulo SP - MAC 25 anos: destaques da coleção inicial, at MAC/USP
1988 - São Paulo SP - Modernidade: arte brasileira do século XX, at MAM/SP
1989 - El Paso (United States) - The Latin American Spirit: art and artists in the United States: 1920-1970, at El Paso Museum of Art
1989 - Fortaleza CE - Brazilian Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Ceará Collections: paintings and drawings, at Espaço Cultural da Unifor
1989 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Six Decades of Brazilian Modern Art: Roberto Marinho Collection, at the José de Azeredo Center for Modern Art Perdigão
1989 - San Diego (United States) - The Latin American Spirit: art and artists in the United States, 1920-1970, at the San Diego Museum of Art
1989 - San Juan (Puerto Rico) - The Latin American Spirit: art and artists in the United States, 1920-1970, at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña
1989 - São Paulo SP - Painting Brazil 20th Century: works from the collection of Banco Itaú, at Itaugaleria
1990 - Miami (United States) - The Latin American Spirit: art and artists in the United States, 1920-1970, at the Center for the Fine Arts Miami Art Museum of Date
1990 - Moscow (Soviet Union, now Russia) - Candido Portinari: retrospective
1991 - Curitiba PR - Municipal Museum of Art: collection, at the Municipal Museum of Art
1991 - São Paulo SP - Candido Portinari: drawings, at Casa das Rosas
1992 - Campinas SP - Winners of the Contemporary Art Salons of Campinas, at MACC
1992 - Paris (France) - Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, at Centre Georges Pompidou
1992 - Poços de Caldas MG - Brazilian Modern Art: collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo, at Casa de Cultura
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Art Engraving in Brazil: proposal for a mapping, at CCBB
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Nature: four centuries of art in Brazil, at CCBB
1992 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective, at Dan Galeria
1992 - São Paulo SP - The Formation of the Modernist Gaze, at MAC/USP
1992 - Seville (Spain) - Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, at the Plaza de Armas Station
1992 - Zurich (Switzerland) - Brasilien: understanding and self-examination, at the Kunsthaus Zürich
1993 - Cologne (Germany) - Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, at the Kunsthalle Cologne
1993 - New York (United States) - Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century, at the MoMA
1993 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazil: 100 Years of Modern Art, at the MNBA
1993 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Candido Portinari: exhibition commemorating his 90th birthday, at the Jockey Club
1993 - São Paulo SP - 100 Masterpieces from the Mário de Andrade Collection: painting and sculpture, at the IEB/USP
1993 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art in the World, a Trajectory: 24 Brazilian artists, at Dan Galeria
1993 - São Paulo SP - Latin American Engravings: six masters, at Memorial Gallery
1993 - São Paulo SP - Modern Drawing in Brazil: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at Sesi Art Gallery
1993 - São Paulo SP - Modernism at the Museum of Brazilian Art: painting, at MAB/Faap
1994 - Poços de Caldas MG - Unibanco Collection: exhibition commemorating Unibanco's 70th anniversary, at Casa de Cultura
1994 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Modern Drawing in Brazil: Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at MAM/RJ
1994 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Trenches: art and politics in Brazil, at MAM/RJ
1994 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Modern Art: a selection from the Roberto Marinho Collection, at Masp
1994 - São Paulo SP - 20th Century Brazil Biennial, at the Biennial Foundation
1994 - São Paulo SP - Poetics of Resistance: aspects of Brazilian engraving, at the Sesi Art Gallery
1995 - Brasília DF - Brasília Collections, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Itamaraty Palace
1995 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Unibanco Collection: exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of Unibanco, at MAM/RJ
1996 - Fortaleza (Ceará) - Candido Portinari; drawings and paintings, at the Multiarte Gallery
1996 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art: 50 years of history in the MAC/USP collection: 1920-1970, at MAC/USP
1996 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at A Hebraica
1996 - São Paulo SP - Images of Brazil: panels for "O Cruzeiro" in the Central Bank Collection, at MAM/SP
1996 - São Paulo SP - Portinari Reader, at MAM/SP
1996 - São Paulo SP - Portinari: panel and drawings, at Banco Sudameris
1997 - São Paulo SP - Masters of Expressionism in Brazil, at Masp
1997 - São Paulo SP - Portinari Retrospective: drama and poetry, at the São Paulo Museum of Art
1998 - Belo Horizonte MG - Candido Portinari: drawings, at the Moreira Salles Institute. Cultural Center
1998 - Brasília DF - Brazilian like neither Me, nor Who?, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Itamaraty Palace
1998 - Ribeirão Preto SP - Portinari Retrospective, at the Sesc Art Gallery
1998 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Constantini Collection at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, at MAM/RJ
1998 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Negotiated Images: portraits of the Brazilian elite, at CCBB
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Constantini Collection at the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo, at MAM/SP
1998 - São Paulo SP - MAM Bahia Collection: paintings, at MAM/SP
1998 - São Paulo SP - Highlights of the Unibanco Collection, at the Moreira Salles Institute
1998 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Fantasy: the ballet of the IV Centenary, at Sesc Belenzinho
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Collector, at MAM/SP
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Collectors - Guita and José Mindlin: matrices and engravings, at the Sesi Art Gallery
1999 - Campinas SP - Interior of Portinari, at MACC
1999 - Niterói RJ - Rio Engraving Exhibition. Banerj Collection, at the Ingá Museum
1999 - Porto Alegre RS - 2nd Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial, at the Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial Foundation
1999 - Porto Alegre RS - Picasso, Cubism and Latin America, at Margs
1999 - Ribeirão Preto SP - Interior of Portinari, at the Pedro Manuel-Gismondi Art Museum of Ribeirão Preto
1999 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Rio Engraving Exhibition. Guita and José Mindlin Collection, at the Correios Cultural Space
1999 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Rio Engraving Exhibition. Brazilian Literature and Engraving, at the ABL
1999 - São Paulo SP - The Feminine Figure in the MAB Collection, at MAB/Faap
1999 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian like neither Me, nor Whom?, at MAB/Faap. Cultural Salon
1999 - São Paulo SP - Everyday Life/Art. Consumption, at Itaú Cultural
1999 - São Paulo SP - Works on Paper: from modernism to abstraction, at Dan Galeria
2000 - Brasília DF - Brazil Europe Exhibition: encounters in the 20th century, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
2000 - Caxias do Sul RS - Traveling Exhibition of the Margs Collection
2000 - Lisbon (Portugal) - Brazil-brasis: remarkable and amazing things. Modernist Views, at the Chiado Museum
2000 - Lisbon (Portugal) - 20th Century: art from Brazil, at the José de Azeredo Perdigão Center for Modern Art
2000 - Passo Fundo RS - Traveling Exhibition of the Margs Collection
2000 - Pelotas RS - Traveling Exhibition of the Margs Collection
2000 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - When Brazil was Modern: visual arts in Rio de Janeiro from 1905 to 1960, at the Paço Imperial
2000 - Santa Maria RS - Traveling Exhibition of the Margs Collection
2000 - São Paulo SP - The Female Figure in the MAB Collection, at MAB/Faap
2000 - São Paulo SP - The Human Figure in the Itaú Collection, at Itaú Cultural
2000 - São Paulo SP - Brazil + 500 Exhibitions
2000 - São Paulo SP - São Paulo: from village to metropolis, at the Masp Gallery Prestes Maia
2000 - Valencia (Spain) - From Anthropophagy to Brasilia: Brazil 1920-1950, at the IVAM. Julio Gonzáles Center
2001 - Belo Horizonte MG - Modernism in Minas: referential icons, at the Itaú Cultural
2001 - Brazilia DF - Collections of Brazil, at CCBB
2001 - New York (United States) - Brazil: body and soul, at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
2001 - Penápolis SP - Modernism in Minas: referential icons, at Galeria Itaú Cultural
2001 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Collections of the Modern: Hecilda and Sergio Fadel at Chácara do Céu, at Castro Maya Museums. Museum of Chácara do Céu
2001 - São Paulo SP - 30 Masters of Painting in Brazil, at Masp
2001 - São Paulo SP - 4 Decades, at Nova André Galeria
2001 - São Paulo SP - Aldo Franco Collection, at Pinacoteca do Estado
2001 - São Paulo SP - Museum of Brazilian Art: 40 years, at MAB/Faap
2002 - Brasília DF - JK - An Aesthetic Adventure, at Conjunto Cultural da Caixa
2002 - Niterói RJ - Brazilian Art on Paper: 19th and 20th centuries, at Solar do Jambeiro
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: from the restlessness of the modern to the autonomy of language, at CCBB
2002 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: from the restlessness of the modern to the autonomy of language, at CCBB
2002 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Pinakotheke
2002 - São Paulo SP - From Anthropophagy to Brasília: Brazil 1920-1950, MAB/Faap
2002 - São Paulo SP - Wild Mirror: modern art in Brazil in the first half of the 20th century, Nemirovsky Collection, at MAM/SP
2002 - São Paulo SP - Image and Identity: a look at history in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, at the Banco Santos Cultural Institute
2002 - São Paulo SP - Modernism: from the Week of 22 to the art section of Sérgio Milliet, at CCSP
2003 - Belém PA - 22nd Pará Art Salon, at the Pará State Museum
2003 - Brasília DF - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: from the restlessness of the modern to the autonomy of language, at CCBB
2003 - Ipatinga MG - Brazilian Art in the MAP Collection, at the Usiminas Cultural Center - Ipatinga
2003 - Ribeirão Preto SP - The 1920s: Emerging Modernity, at the Pedro Manuel-Gismondi Museum of Art of Ribeirão Preto
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Art: from the Revolution of 1930 to the post-war period, at MAM/RJ
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Art in Motion, at the BNDES Space
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Autonomy of Drawing, at MAM/RJ
2003 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Treasures of the Caixa: modern Brazilian art in the Caixa collection, at the Caixa Cultural Complex
2003 - São Paulo SP - Art and Society: a controversial relationship, at Itaú Cultural
2003 - São Paulo SP - Arteconhecimento: 70 years of USP, at MAC/USP
2003 - São Paulo SP - D. Quixote - Portinari, at MAC/USP
2003 - São Paulo SP - MAC USP 40 Years: contemporary interfaces, at MAC/USP
2003 - São Paulo SP - Novecento Sudamericano: artistic relations between Italy, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, at the Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo
2003 - São Paulo SP - Portinari 100 Years: allegories of Brazil, at MAM/SP
2003 - São Paulo SP - Portinari: the Brazilian man, at the Pinacoteca of the State
2003 - São Paulo SP - Portraits, at MAB/Faap
2004 - Brasília DF - The Modernist Look of JK, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Itamaraty Palace
2004 - London (United Kingdom) - Visions of a Brazilian Childhood, at the Brazilian Embassy in England
2004 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Iconic Face of Brazilian Art, at MAM/RJ
2004 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - The Century of a Brazilian: Roberto Marinho Collection, at the Imperial Palace
2004 - São Paulo SP - Paper Cabinet, at CCSP
2004 - São Paulo SP - New Acquisitions: 1995 - 2003, at MAB/Faap
2004 - São Paulo SP - The Price of Seduction: from the corset to silicone, at Itaú Cultural
2004 - São Paulo SP - Portinari at BM&F: work as a theme, at the BM&F Cultural Space
2005 - São Paulo SP - Faces of Mário, at IEB/USP
2005 - São Paulo SP - The Century of a Brazilian: Roberto Marinho Collection, at MAM/SP
2005 - São Paulo SP - 100 Years of the Pinacoteca: the formation of a collection, at the Sesi Art Gallery
2005 - São Paulo SP - Homo Ludens: from make-believe to vertigo, at Itaú Cultural
2005 - São Paulo SP - Odorico Tavares: my Bahian home - dreams and desires of a collector, at the Sesi Art Gallery
2005 - São Paulo SP - Candido Portinari Bible Series, at the São Paulo Art Museum
2005 - Curitiba PR - Odorico Tavares: my Bahian home - dreams and desires of a collector, at the Oscar Niemeyer
2005 - Fortaleza CE - Brazilian Art: in the public and private collections of Ceará, at the Unifor Cultural Space
2005 - Ribeirão Preto SP - The Portrait: Possibilities, at the Pedro Manuel-Gismondi Museum of Art of Ribeirão Preto
2005 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Masterpieces of Brazilian Art, at the Rio Design Barra Exhibition Center
2006 - São Paulo SP - The Osirarte, at Caixa Cultural
2006 - São Paulo SP - Portinari from Masp at the Morumbi Shopping Mall, at the MorumbiShopping Art Space
2006 - São Paulo SP - Modern Art in Context: ABN AMRO Real collection, at Banco Santander
2006 - São Paulo SP - Brasilia at Masp: modern contemporary, at the São Paulo Museum of Art
2006 - São Paulo SP - The Modernist Look of JK, at MAB-FAAP
2006 - São Paulo SP - 1st Art Salon, at A Hebraica
2006 - São Paulo SP - A Century of Brazilian Art - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the State Pinacoteca
2006 - Recife PE - Modern Art in Context: ABN AMRO Real collection, at the Banco Real Cultural Institute
2006 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Modern Art in Context: ABN AMRO Real collection, at the Museum of Modern Art
2006 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Modern Brazilian Drawing 1917-1950, at the Museum of Modern Art
2006 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - A Century of Brazilian Art - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Museum of Art Modern
2007 - São Paulo SP - Brazil, Several Times Modern, at Espaço Arte MorumbiShopping
2007 - Belo Horizonte MG - Binária: collection and collections, at the Pampulha Art Museum
2007 - Curitiba PR - Oscar Niemeyer: architect, Brazilian, citizen, at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum
2007 - Curitiba PR - A Century of Brazilian Art - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum
2007 - Porto Alegre RS - Candido Portinari, at the IMS Gallery - Unibanco Arteplex
2007 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Candido Portinari: drawings, at the Moreira Institute Salles
2007 - Niterói RJ - Oscar Niemeyer: architect, Brazilian, citizen, at MAC-Niterói
2007 - Salvador BA - A Century of Brazilian Art - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection, at the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia
2008 - São Paulo SP - BM&FBOVESPA Collection, at the BM&FBovespa Cultural Space
2008 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Brazil, at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center
2008 - São Paulo SP - Strategies for Entering and Leaving Modernity in the Itaú Moderno Collection, at the São Paulo Museum of Art
2008 - São Paulo SP - MAM 60, at Oca
2008 - Porto Alegre RS - Margs Collection - Expressiveness in Brazilian Art, at the Museum of Visual Arts Ruth Schneider
2009 - São Paulo SP - Art in France 1860-1960: Realism, at the São Paulo Museum of Art
2009 - São Paulo SP - Modernos de Sempre, at the Dan Galeria
2009 - São Paulo SP - A Critical Look: Award-Winning Art from ABCA and the Artistic Collection of the Palaces, at the Palácio dos Bandeirantes
2009 - São Paulo SP - Treasures from the Roberto Marinho Collection, at the BM&FBovespa Cultural Space
2009 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Brazil, at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center
2009 - São Paulo SP - Biblical and Retiring Series, at the São Paulo Museum of Art
2009 - São Paulo SP - Under a Tropical Sky, at the James Lisboa Art Office
2009 - Curitiba PR - Portinari in the Castro Collection Maya, at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum
2010 - São Paulo SP - Brazilianness and Modernism, at Dan Gallery
2010 - São Paulo SP - Revealed Memories, at the Museum of Brazilian Art
2010 - Ribeirão Preto SP - Animal, at the Marcelo Guarnieri Art Gallery
2010 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Genealogies of the Contemporary, at the Museum of Modern Art
2010 - São Paulo SP - 6th Sp-arte, at the Biennial Foundation
2010 - São Paulo SP - Portinari in Israel, at the Jewish Culture Center
2010 - São Paulo SP - Portinari in the Castro Maia Collection, at the State Pinacoteca
2011 - São Paulo SP - 7th Sp-arte, at the Biennial Foundation
2011 - São Paulo SP - Art in Brazil: A History at the São Paulo Art Gallery, at the State Art Gallery
2011 - São Paulo SP - Collection Clippings, at the Ricardo Camargo Gallery
2011 - Belo Horizonte MG - 1911-2011 - Brazilian Art and Later, at the Itaú Collection, at the Clóvis Salgado Foundation. Palace of Arts
2011 - Nova Lima MG - Tarsila and the Brazil of the Modernists, at the Casa Fiat de Cultura
2011 - São Paulo SP - In Portinari's Studio, at the Museum of Modern Art
2012 - Belém PA - Seringal, at the Banco da Amazônia Cultural Space
2012 - Brasília DF - Portraits of Brazilianness, at the National Congress
2012 - Recife PE - Odorico Tavares: Dreams and Desires of a Collector, at the Ricardo Brennand Institute
2013 - Campinas SP - 100 years of Paulista Art in the Collection of the Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo, at the CPFL Cultura Art Gallery

Partial list of Tributes, titles and awards

1940 – Chicago (United States) – The University of Chicago publishes the first book about the painter, Portinari: His Life and Art, with introduction of artist Rockwell Kent

1946 – Paris (France) – Legion of Honor, awarded by the French government

1950 – Warsaw (Poland) – Gold Medal, for the panel Tiradentes (1949), awarded by the jury of the International Peace Prize.

1955 – New York (United States) – Gold Medal, as best painter of the year, awarded by the International Fine Arts Council.

1956 – New York (United States) – Guggenheim Prize for Painting, on the occasion of the inauguration of the panels War and Peace at the UN headquarters in New York.

Bibliography

Son, Mário – The childhood of Portinari, Bloch Editions, Rio de Janeiro - 1889.

Moreira, Marcos – The life of the great Brazilians - Editora Três - 2010.

Drummond de Andrade, Carlos – I was at Candinho's house. In: Confessions of Minas. In: Poetry and prose: single volume. 8th ed. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Aguilar, 1992. p. 1354-1356. (Luso-Brazilian Library. Brazilian series).

Andrade, Mário de. Portinari, amico mio: letters from Mário de Andrade to Candido Portinari- Org., introd., notes Annateresa Fabris. Campinas, SP: Mercado de Letras, Ed. Authors Assoc.; Rio de Janeiro: Projeto Portinari, 1995. 160 p. (Art Collection: Essays and Documents).

Bento, Antonio. Portinari- Apres. Afonso Arinos; pref. Jayme de Barros. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Léo Christiano, 2003, 396 p. Il

Fabris, Annateresa. Candido Portinari- São Paulo, SP: Edusp, 1996. 191 p. Il. (Brazilian Artists, 4.)

Kent, Rockwell - Portinari: his life and art. apres. Josias Leão. Chicago, IL: Chicago Univ., 1940, 116 p. Il.

Luraghi, Eugenio - Disegni di Portinari, Turin, ITA, 1955, 188 p. il.

Luraghi, Eugenio -Israel: design of Portinari. pref. Arie Aroch. Rio de Janeiro, RJ:

Guanabara Koogan; New York: H. N. Abrams, 1957, 148 p. il.

Portinari, Antônio. Portinari boy- Apres. Antonio Callado. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: J. Olympio, 1980. 172 p. il.

Portinari, Candido. Social meaning of art. [Buenos Aires]: Centro Estudiantes de Bellas Artes, 1947, 38 p. ill. (Cuadernillos de Cultura).

Portinari, Candido. Poems by Candido Portinari - Pref. Manuel Bandeira. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: J. Olympio, 1964. 105 p. il.

The Book of Virtues for Children