Ten artists, painting between 1910 and the 1970s, fill the main galleries of the Royal Academy. Four of them have been shown at the RA before, in the largest exhibition of modern Brazilian art in the UK, back in 1944. Who knew?
It is roughly two artists per room, with a brief biog for each in tall Art-Deco-y font. All bar two were born in Brazil but travelled extensively, mainly in Europe. Sao Paulo was the place to be. A number of the paintings deal with similar themes - indigenous people, poverty, colonialism - but they don't feel particularly connected, apart from the fact that Mario de Andrade was plainly the man to know! Kids will have fun spotting the three portraits of him (by, from L to R below, Lasar Segall, Flavio de Carvalho and Candido Partinari).
It feels a bit random, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. You can spend a happy half an hour looking at well-executed canvasses, finding your favourite (ours was Djanira da Motta e Silva, below) and learn about a bunch of painters who won't change your life but will brighten a dull day. And children U16 are free.
Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism Royal Academy 28 Jan–21 April. Tickets: £21 adults, U16s free.
Emily Turner 30 January, 2025
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