MASP

Known for his landscapes, in which churches and balloons float over the mountains of the historical colonial cities of Minas Gerais, Alberto da Veiga Guignard also produced many portraits, which formed a significant portion of his body of work. Guignard depicted himself, family members, friends, children, intellectuals, and artists, and even accepted portrait commissions, especially from wealthy Minas Gerais families. The identity of the white child depicted in Figura de menino com camisa branca listrada [Figure of Boy with White Striped Shirt] is unknown. Guignard painted the portrait one year before his death, just as he was gaining notoriety in Brazilian art circles. The painting presents a palette of bright and pastel colors reflective of the playful and childish universe of its subject. The figure’s well-organized and structured composition stands out, demonstrating Guignard’s mastery of drawing, as seen in the precise and light strokes, especially of the blue stripes over the boy’s white shirt. Despite being categorized as a portrait, Guignard highlighted other elements in the scene’s surrounding landscape—in this case, a seaside area. He depicted bathers, sailors, fishermen, boats, coconut trees and balloons, which, in the portrait’s background, reveal traces of the universe and the style of their landscapes, characterized by the intentional disproportion and stylization of figures and objects.

— Guilherme Giufrida, assistant curator, MASP, 2018

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