"Opulence and Devotion : Brazilian Baroque Art"
2001-10-25 until 2002-02-03
University of Oxford, Ashmolean Museum
Oxford, , UK United Kingdom

This is the first exhibition on Britain of Brazilian Baroque art. Over 50 works have been shipped from Brazil for display. Full of gilded beauty and virtuoso carving, they promise to reveal the extraordinary vitality and expressiveness of this little known and rarely seen art.

On display will be a rich array of painted and gilded sculpture, silverwork and small altarpieces -- chosen from both private and public collections. There are charming, intimate, private altarpieces and oratórios -- carved cabinets housing images of saints and the Madonna. These were shown in the houses of well-to-do merchants and plantation-owners, alongside richly carved furniture, silverware and porcelain. We also see a grou of unfamilar black saints, particularly revered by slaves and free people of African descent.

Catherine Whistler, curator of the exhibition, writes, From the late 16th century to the end of the 18th century, when Brazil was a Portuguese colony, painting and sculpture was almost entirely religious in nature. African slaves, who were imported to work the sugar crops and goldmines, were also employed in the building and decoration of churches. Indeed some of the greatest artists and architects of the period were of mixed race, such as Antônio Francisco Lisboa (known as Aleijadinho) (c.1738-1814), the son of a Portuguese architect and an African slave.

The intense spirituality of the altarpieces and the beautifully carved devotional figures stand out amongst the Ashmolean's own displays of European art. It makes the exhibition an unforgettable experience.

The exhibition is part of a broad programme of UK events organised by BrasilConnects celebrating Brazlian art and culture in 2001. BrasilConnects is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that celebrates and support's Brazil's most treasured assets by connecting the country's past with its future, its culture with its ecology, and its people with the world.

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