Sculpture and indianism(s)
in 19th century Brazil
Alberto
Martín Chillón [1]
CHILLÓN, Alberto Martín. Sculpture and indianism(s) in 19th century Brazil. 19&20, Rio de Janeiro, v. X,
n. 1, jan./jun. 2015. https://www.doi.org/10.52913/19e20.X1.07b
[Português]
* * *
Introduction
Which peoples were those that the Portuguese
encountered in the land of the Holy Cross, when they took the opportunity and
extended Cabral’s discovery?[2]
1.
Friedrich
von Martius asked himself the same question in 1845 when deciding how to write
the History of Brazil, at a turning point for constructing the new nation, and
the question remained in the collective conscience as a problem to be solved
during the whole period of the Empire; it was not just about knowing which
peoples they were, but also, on a factual level, what their role was in the new
state and, on a symbolic level, how they were going to be represented and for
what purpose. That is in fact the same question: what should be done with those
people encountered by the Portuguese in the land of the Holy Cross, in a
society that was completely foreign to their own and what kind of relationship
should be established with them? In other words, the paramount question within
this context is to know how indigenous people would fit into a western society
transplanted to the tropics, not only physically, but also imagetically.
The indigenous individual and his image will become a problem, a challenge to
be solved, and not always will these two elements be connected.
2.
We
seek the goal of understanding how fine arts face the difficult task of
representing the Other, the indigenous individual; what languages are selected;
what characteristics are emphasized; what their main concerns and choices are.
It is all about choices, after all, maybe more than inability or lack of
knowledge, and believing so allows us to look for a stronger intentionality in
artworks, disregarding restrictive labels such as "academicism". We
will follow this trend, in opposition to authors like Bardi,
who stated that artists:
3.
were ignorant of ethnography, had no
contact with the indians, were not credulous readers
of “A Confederação dos Tamoios”
(The Tamoios Confederation), by Domingos
José Gonçalves de Magalhães, expressed their
Indigenist speculations in a decadent mannerism [...]. The authentic Indianist
painting is that which was executed by the illustrators of the exploration
groups, since they observed the indigenous people with curiosity and scientific
interest.[3]
4.
We
will not herein consider the greater proximity to an indigenous “reality” as a positive classification criteria, prioritizing the
approaches that look at the indigenous individual from a more “realistic” point
of view as more perfect and important. It is necessary to evaluate how
realistic they actually were, when we know that
travelling artists sometimes did not see firsthand what they portrayed in their
drawings. Such drawings, which were later considered, to a greater or lesser
extent, as an ethnographic observation paradigm by other artists like Louis Rochet in his task of sculpting indigenous individuals, are
still today seen as prototypical representations. In the present work, this
“realistic” and “modern” aspect, understood almost as a natural evolution, is
not taken for a fact that makes this kind of artwork superior, leading the way
to be followed by all others, as if it were a kind of judgment parameter.
5.
Thus,
abandoning the limitations imposed by "academicism", which
theoretically kept art production under its firm grip, and not considering
“realism” or the “ethnographic” interest as a goal to be achieved, dismissing
artworks which followed different trends as failures, we tackle the image of
the indigenous individual in fine arts.
6.
The
expression “Indianism” has given rise to many studies, most of them associating
this movement with Romanticism and the search for a national hero. In the face
of a lack of medieval traditions, and the impossibility of turning to
Portuguese history or to afro-descendent figures, the indian
was Romanticism’s last possible resort; “European Romanticism set the standards
for stereotyping: native people were stylized as an aboriginal aristocracy. The
idealization of nationality had a mix between the epic colonizer and the good
savage at its epicenter."[4]
7.
Starting
from the idea presented by literature in which indians
such as Peri represent “the indian as an heroic myth
for Brazilian people [...], presented as having superhuman attributes since his
first appearance in the novel"[5], we
will try to establish if artists perceive the indian
the same way in fine arts and if literature is their ultimate source of
inspiration. However, we will attempt to approach Indianism - understood as
visual representations showing the indian figure as
the main or supporting character - as a continuous fact with a long tradition,
in which it is difficult to define the beggining of a
Romantic intentionality, leaving behind another kind
of Indianism, even more evident in sculpture. We will focus mainly on visual
representations produced after the age of the great travelling artists and the
members of the French Mission, giving a special emphasis to sculptural
artworks.
8.
However,
we place the following question: why focus precisely on sculpture when studying
Indianism? Taking a first approach to Indianist artworks, even if a necessarily
incomplete one due to the huge gap there is in the reconstruction of such works
– it is possible to notice that between 1841, when Carlos Custódio
de Azevedo
produces the commemorative medal of Dom Pedro II’s coronation, and 1889, year
that marks the fall of the Brazilian Empire, we can find many indigenous-themed
artworks which can be discussed. Naturally, painting is usually the most
discussed topic when it comes to studying Indianism, giving special attention,
after Victor Meirelles produces his first painting on the theme, A primeira missa do Brasil (The First Mass in Brazil), to works with female
representations such as Marabá, Lindoia,
Moema, Atalá, Iracema, etc.. Coincidentally, most of them, except for Moema, by Victor Meirelles, 1866, are painted in the 1870s
and mainly in the 1880s. This is the reason why, when observing the 1840s,
1850s, 1860s and 1870s, our main focus of interest, we can see that at the
beginning of the 1840’s, there is a profusion of pictorial works alluding to
religion as a theme, and with some reference to historical facts, which can be
exemplified by the paintings Elevação da cruz pelos selvagens
(Indians raising the holy cross), by Rafael Mendes
de Carvalho,
1842, Nóbrega e seus
companheiros (Nobrega
and his fellows) by Manuel Joaquim de Melo Corte Real, 1843, or A primeira missa celebrada em São Vicente no ano de 1532 (The First Mass in Sao Vicente in 1532), by
Johann Moritz Rugendas, 1845. Auguste
François Biard and Claude Joseph Barandieralso make Indianist paintings - the former paints Cena
de selvagens (Scene of Savages), in 1842, and Dois índios numa canoa e Índios adorando o sol (Two Indians in a Canoe and Indians
Honoring the Sun), between 1858 and 1860, and the latter, Indígenas
e Paisagem do Brasil
(Indians and Brazilian Landscape), presented in the 1861 National Exhibition.
In 1847, Louis Auguste
Moreau exhibits two
wildlife scenes: A luta (The fight) and O descanso (Resting). Fuga
de Atalá (Atala’s Escape) and As exéquias de Atalá
(Atala’s Funeral) are the themes chosen by Frederico
Tirone for his two
paintings exhibited in 1860.
9.
A
series of important Indianism-inspired pieces of sculpture is produced as of
the late 1850’s throughout 1860’s and the first half of the 1870’s. During this
period, sculpture becomes more widespread. Representations are almost always
masculine and receive generic names, differently from what happens with
representations of female indians during the
subsequent decades. Our intention is to reconstruct this tradition of
sculptural art the best way possible, analyzing its importance, its
distinguishing characteristics and its role in the
Indianist movement, taking into consideration that such works precede most
Indianist works that are deemed important.
The indianist sculpture
10.
We
will consider 1845 as the starting point of the Indianist sculptorical
genealogy, although we can trace it back to the beginning of the 19th century,
when Ferdinand Pettrich created a symbolic piece - which has now been lost -
for Indianism: the effigy of an Indian representing Brazil.[6]
11.
It is
said that, in 1850, Francisco Elídio Pânfiro died while working on a series of bas-relief pieces
related to the novel Caramurú, by Santa Rita Durão. In 1857, we can find one of the greatest, but not
very well-known Indianist artworks: the façade of the old Cassino Fluminense,
from 1857, produced by João Duarte Morais,
Severo da
Silva Quaresma and Quirino
Antônio Vieira. It
is the first time an indian had occupied the center
of such an important work of art.[7]
12.
The
1860s are prolific in the production of Indianism-inspired sculptures. In 1861,
in the National Exhibition, a piece made of Brazilian carved wood is presented
by I. G. W.
Steffens: Desembarque de Pedro Álvares
Cabral em Porto Seguro (Pedro Alvares
Cabral Disembarking in Porto Seguro). In 1862, a great monument by Louis Rochet
is inaugurated in honor of Dom Pedro I, and Leon Despres de Cluny produces Família de
selvagens atacados por uma serpente
(Family of Savages Attacked by a Snake). In 1866, Cândido Caetano de Almeida Reis sends from Paris his first work produced during his
scholarship at the Fine Arts Academy, O Paraíba
(The Paraíba). Two years later, Karl Linde exhibits a carved work in wax at the Fine Arts
General Exhibition, Combate de dois índios (Two Indians
Fighting). In the 1870s, the commemorative medal honoring the Lei do Ventre Livre (“Free Womb” Abolitionist Law) is
produced; Índio em
repouso (Indian at Rest) and À espreita (Lurking), by Rodolfo Bernardelli, and Alegoria do Império Brasileiro (Allegory
of the Brazilian Empire) by Francisco Manuel Chaves
Pinheiro. Finally, during
the 1880s, the number of Indianism-inspired sculptures produced starts
decreasing; one highlight from this phase is A Faceira
(Provocative Girl) by Rodolfo Bernardelli and the six
fluvial representations shown in the Brazilian hall of the Paris Universal
Exhibit in 1889.
Shapes
and uses of the indigenous image
13.
Differently
from painting, Indianist sculptures are very rarely inspired on literature.
There is only one single example of this kind of artwork, which unfortunately
has been lost: the author, Francisco Elídio Pânfiro, professor of the Fine Arts Academy, is said to
have been producing the series of bas-relief works of which it is part at the moment of his early death in 1852. They were inspired
on the novel Caramurú, written by the friar
José de Santa Rita Durão and also the source of
inspiration for Jules Le Chevrel (1862) and for Victor Meirelles to paint Paraguassú and Diogo
Alvares Corre e Moema (1866).
14.
Historical
references, frequently found in paintings portraying the discovery and
evangelization of the territory, are seldom represented in sculpture. In
paintings from the 1840’s, though, there are many examples: Rafael Mendes de
Carvalho, who painted Elevação da cruz pelos selvagens
(Indians Raising the Holy Cross) in 1842; Manuel Joaquim de Melo Corte Real,
with Nóbrega e seus
companheiros (Nobrega
and his Fellows) in 1843; or A primeira missa celebrada em São Vicente no ano de 1532 (The
First Mass Celebrated in Sao Vicente in 1532) by Rugendas;
and Victor Meireles’ paradigmatic work of art A primeira missa no Brasil (The First Mass in Brazil), whose sketch was
exhibited in the General Fine Arts Exhibition in 1859. Only one work, presented
in 1861 at the National Exhibition, represented this occasion: the unknown
artist I. G. W. Steffens produced a relief piece carved in Brazilian wood
depicting o Desembarque de Pedro Álvares Cabral em Porto Seguro
(Pedro Alvares Cabral Disembarking in Porto Seguro).
The scene is clearly divided into two parts: on the right side, the expedition
is arriving; on the left side, we can see the forest and the indians watching the scene. In the center, in the
foreground, a group of three Portuguese men bearing the Royal Standard, one of
them with his hand raised up to the sky. Just behind them, Portuguese men help indians to lift up a big wooden
cross. The treatment given to the indian figures is
very similar to Victor Meireles’, but the illustration
through which we know this work of art does not allow for further appreciation
of these figures individually.
15.
An
exceptional case is a sculpture group which is found in the hall of Rio de
Janeiro’s Museum of the Republic, traditionally attributed to the sculptor
Francisco Manoel Chaves Pinheiro and identified as
his work Ubirajara[8].
However, a review was published in the press about the winner of the golden
medal in the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1862 that raises doubts about
this attribution:
16.
The group by Mr. Després
is impressive. The indian, standing up, bent over his
left hip, looks surprised by a rattlesnake that threatens him. There is an
arrow in his hand; since he is too close to be able to use the bow, the indian is ready to defend himself with a, let’s say, one on
one fight. This battle, expressed with such clarity, would terrify the
spectator’s spirit had it not been for the woman, hiding behind the indian with a child in her arms, reflecting such confidence
in her expression.[9]
17.
The
French sculptor Leon Després de Cluny was quite
active in Rio de Janeiro as of 1861 at least, and for more than 25 years, and
deserved the artistic recognition he received on many occasions. It seems that
he was the artist chosen by the Baron of Nova Friburgo,
António Clemente Pinto, to execute this work of art. There is not much
information available about either this commission or the level of involvement
of the client in the final result, but the piece is distinguished by its
classicism, by the artist’s devotion to old school painting, which brought him
apart from the nature of his subject, leading to a poor representation of the
indigenous type.[10] As of 1863, the interest in the indigenous type
becomes one of the main concerns of the critics, one which will be recurrent in
other representations, such as O Paraíba (The
Paraiba), produced by Cândido Caetano de Almeida Reis in 1866.
18.
The
construction of the indian figure by the French
artist stands out for its syncretism, with references coming from different
origins. In a pyramidal composition, the artist gathers the most
typical indian attributes: a feather skirt and
arrows, together with stereotyped vegetation and hunted animals which, contrary
to Rochet’s work, lack a more detailed study of the local characteristics.
19.
On the
other hand, the absence of an indian headdress - the
“cocar” - catches one’s attention, and the hairstyle
chosen by Despres, which reminds us of hairstyles
more common to North American indians, even more.
Likewise, the fur the figure carries on his shoulders does not belong to the
Brazilian indian’s typical garments. A strong
classical influence was noticed by critics, especially in the female figure,
which is perceived as representing Faith, beautiful and immutable. Thus, a
completely original representation was created in the Brazilian artistic scene
whose North American references lead us to think of the little
known work of the sculptor Ferdinand Pettrich,
present in Brazil as of the 1840s. During his stay in Brazil, Pettrich produced an outstanding collection of busts of
North American Indians based on sketches made in the United States, and this
collection must have had a great repercussion in the art scene. It is worth
remembering that this is one of the first Indianist artworks: an indian as an allegorical representation of Brazil which was
offered as a gift by the sculptor in 1845. This piece was not preserved, but taking into consideration the collection held
in the Vatican Museums, in which there is a concern for capturing the facial
features and singularities of each individual, it is acceptable to believe that
it was this very concern that guided the creation of the image of the Brazilian
indian. This attempt, if that was the case, will
reach its climax in the work of another European sculptor, the French artist
Louis Rochet.
The
ethnographic proposal. A
discontinuous path.
20.
Undoubtedly,
the most famous work is the monument in honor of Dom Pedro I, produced in 1862
by the French sculptor Louis Rochet[11],
based upon the initial project by João Maximiano
Mafra. A model for this monument was presented in the 1861
Art Exhibition in Paris when, in the publication L ́Artiste,
Francis Aubert appointed Rochet as the first sculptor to face the difficult
task of rendering indians, having succeeded in doing
so despite the lack of a tradition of works on this theme. Aubert says the
figures “showed a firm dignity merged with the typical melancholy of people of
the represented ethnicity” and closes the review by saying: “ils sont vrais,
et pourtant ils sont beaux"[12],
substantiating the most important attribute highlighted by critics: the
verisimilitude of the indigenous facial features, which Rochet studied,
directly or indirectly, through illustrations, in his ranch in Rio de Janeiro,
in 1856. Many busts based on these studies and reflecting different
ethnicities, are held at the Museum of Man, in Paris.
21.
Characterized
by novelty, O Paraíba (The Paraíba)
- a work produced in Paris by a Brazilian pupil of Rochet´s only four years
after the inauguration of the monument to Dom Pedro I – is considered as the
starting point of a kind of sculpture with a "more intentional Indianist
character, associated to Romanticism".[13] The indian proposed by
Candido Caetano Reis de Almeida is recognizable as an indian
without the need of any kind of attributes, since the artist "portrays the
indian figure with a more natural than symbolic
essence."[14]
22.
Paraíba diverts from the usual representation at that time of
the figure of the indian: he is neither the mythic
founder of the nation, nor the image of the Empire or the representation of the
territory; the image is neither inspired on literature nor does it have a more
decorative side. Following in Rochet´s footsteps, the artist´s work surpasses
his master's, which already showed a concern for the individualized features of
the different indigenous groups when modelling his "river groups". As
Paulo Knauss[15] clarifies,
Rochet exemplifies very well the interest in anthropology that was gaining
space in Europe during this period. Other sculptors, such as Carpeaux, were
also concerned with adopting a more athropological
view when translating into their work the features they were studying, an idea
which appears even more strongly in the sketches on wood made for this work by
Almeida Reis[16], where posture and treatment are freer.
23.
The
sculptor’s bold proposal consisted of releasing the indian
figure from all of its traditional attributes and
presenting it as an individual work, apart from any artistic group or
iconographic program, as we can see in the renditions of Gênio
do Brasil (Brazil’s Genie) or in the
aforementioned monument of Dom Pedro I. In the former, made in 1857 on the
façade of the Cassino Fluminense, the indian is still
a concept, the translation of a long tradition greatly charged with meaning,
and in the latter, the indians are the territorial
representation of Brazil. It is believed that Almeida Reis was inspired on one
of the busts that can be found in the study for this monument to design the
face of his "Paraíba". The indian is represented as an allegory, as a reflection of an
idea or a concept; however, "O Paraíba"
shows a new and different inspiration, even when it is understood as an
allegory, since it loses such character by presenting an indian
defined as "the most perfect model of the North American indian”[17], and thus, unveiling the concern of part of the
critics for rendering the indians taking into account
their particular features, even if generically.
24.
The
representations of rivers are one of the most prolific themes in Brazilian art,
and it is one of the most iconographic topics related to renditions of
indigenous peoples. The use of river allegories can already be found in 1817,
during the celebrations of the arrival of Princess Leopoldina
of Austria[18] to Rio
de Janeiro, when the city's merchants ordered an arch to be built over the Rua dos Pescadores, under the direction of Grandjean de Montigny and Debret. The arch features two pedestals sustaining figures
representing the Janeiro River, with the coat of arms of the United Kingdom of
Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, as well as the
Danube River, showing the eagles of the Empire, with the inscriptions Januarium and Danubios,
a representation of the two Empires. In 1818, during the celebrations of Dom
Joao VI in Rio de Janeiro, the Chamber of Commerce financed the construction of
a lit triumphal arch executed by Grandjean de Montigny
and Debret. In the middle of the arch, the Tejo
and Janeiro Rivers were represented, showing the coat of arms of the United Kingdom
sustained by a crown.[19] The
Amazon River was represented in a bas-relief which stood on the tympanum of the
Temple of Minerva at the coronation of Dom Joao VI, where it was possible to
see "Neptune and the main rivers of the universe: the Danube, the
Euphrates, the Nile and the Amazon” offering to the kings products from the
regions through which the rivers flow. "[20]
25.
During
the Empire, several projects would contemplate these river figures, in many
cases without further specifications about their appearance. One of the most
important imperial public projects, unfortunately not executed, was conducted
by Grandjean de Montigny.
The artist designed a wide range of monuments that would be placed along the
Campo da Aclamação (Acclamation Square, now Republic
Square), where "nine fountains would be built, decorated with emblems or
representations of the main rivers of Brazil."[21] As part of a large project to celebrate the Paraguay
War, a composition was built showing "Eight different statues divided in
groups of two, representing the main rivers of the Empire", [22]a work
of art by F. A. Caminhoá and P. Bernard.[23]
26.
But,
at what point do these allegories begin to be dressed with
feathers? In a drawing from the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts
in Rio de Janeiro[24], a project to sketch a monument intended to be built
in the Campo da Honra (Field of Honor) in memory of
April 7, 1831, there are three river allegories on the base, and, according to
Morales de los Rios, it would be crowned by the figure
of an indian symbolizing Brazil.[25]
27.
Undoubtedly,
one of the representations in which the river gets closer, if not to the indian, at least to the traditional attributes of the
representations of America, dressed in feathers, is the ephemeral balcony
designed by Manuel de
Araújo Porto-alegre for the coronation of Dom Pedro II, having as a
central detail an attic "crowned by a chariot in which Brazil’s Genie
appears holding the horses’ reins with his left hand, and the Imperial Scepter
with the right one"[26]. "On the northern side, the colossal statue
representing the Amazon River is seated and leaning over an alligator, with a
paddle in its left hand and a cornucopia full of Brazilian fruits in the right
one. Mirroring this statue, on the southern side sits the statue of the Prata River holding the same attributes".[27] The chosen attributes are also to be found in the work
of Rochet, enlarged and reinforced with indigenous
facial features, once again following the emperor. According to Migliaccio, in the coronation balcony they are
characterized as indians, representing the
"historical role of these people in the historical process from
evangelization to the proclamation of independence, as well as the role of
rivers in the process of colonization and political unification of Brazil.”[28]
28.
According
to Lilia Moritz, the "coronation of Dom Pedro II, in 1841, was one of the
biggest celebrations of the Empire, when allegories were created in order to
represent the wishes of the country's political elite and the profile that the
young Pedro should symbolize before the nation and, at the same time, the
subjects of his Empire."[29] Thus,
the presence of the Amazon and Prata Rivers serves,
on the one hand, to demarcate the vast Brazilian territory, and on the other
hand, to exalt the monarch capable of reigning over such a huge Empire. In
addition to characterizing the new territory to the world, the river had
already been used as a symbol in 1823 on Dom Pedro I’s coronation balcony in
Pará, where America, together with Brazil, the Amazon and the Prata Rivers, proclaimed its new sovereign.[30]
The
long tradition: the image of Brazil and the Empire
29.
The
Amazon and the Prata Rivers, the nation's image as a
territory, were part of one of the Empire's most important and representative
artefacts: the balcony of the coronation of Dom Pedro II, from 1841. At that
time, according to Migliaccio:
30.
the cultural policies of the Brazilian
Court, guided by the choices of the young emperor and his circle, acquire a
nationalist and Americanist character. The image of the country and the
monarchy is separated from its past of Portuguese heritage, still present in
the First Empire, and endorses the Catholic inspiration and the American
character of the Constitutional Empire founded in the tropics. The image of the
indian, used before as an allegory of the new state,
acquires a new historical consistency as the founder of Brazil’s nationality
and American identity.[31]
31.
Since its
discovery, the idea of Brazil has been associated with exuberant nature and
exoticism, which is frequently linked to the indian
figure as its primordial inhabitant. As noted by Knauss, "although the
allegorical image of the indians had been used since the
colonial period to identify the land of Brazil, it is only in the second half
of the 19th century that the visual arts started participating in promoting the
indian as an icon of the Empire of Brazil".[32]
32.
The
relationship between the image of the indian and the
construction of the image of the Empire, in its various expressions,
constitutes a recurring fact. The great monarchical events - pageantry,
weddings, and coronations - form a field in which indians
appear quite often. Works of art such as Cenário
para o Bailado Histórico
(Backdrop for a Historical Ballet) for the apotheosis of Dom João VI at the
Royal Theatre of São Joao on May 13, 1818, and Pano
de boca executado para a representação
extraordinária dada no Teatro da corte
por ocasião da Coroação do imperador dom Pedro I (Painting on Stage Backdrop for the Special
Session at the Court Theater Celebrating the Coronation of Emperor Dom Pedro I)[33],
1822, by Jean-Baptiste Debret, illustrate the role of
the indian in the national imagery. In the former,
the indian is one of the pillars on which the king is
sustained, representing one of the territories of the great Portuguese Empire,
together with the personifications of the other territories. On the latter, the
central figure of the emperor is replaced by an allegory representing the
nation, surrounded by different elements of this nationality. There we can find
indigenous figures on the left side - not under the central figure, but beside
it. Even before the French Mission, the use of indigenous figures was recurrent
in the monarchic works of art. In São João del Rei, a town in Minas Gerais
state, "two genies dressed in helmets and headdresses adorned with
feathers”[34] sustaining
a crown and a scepter are part of the decoration of a throne offered by the
city’s merchants in celebration of the coronation of Dom Pedro.
33.
Celebrating
one of the most important of such monarchic events, the coronation of Dom Pedro
II, a commemorative medal was coined with the motto Ordo et felicitas, in which an indian
of traditional representation crowns and legitimizes the emperor, who is
sitting on the throne. According to Schwarcz[35], it
is a feminine figure who crowns Dom Pedro and steps on a dragon; in this scene,
the crown represents civilization, while the dragon represents barbarism. The
image refers to an allegorical representation of Brazil who crowns the new
emperor, a fact that is commonly associated with it. But in the Brazilian case,
it is important to highlight another figure, almost a development of these
national allegorical representations: the Gênio
do Brasil (Brazil’s Genie). In 1865, the
publication A Semana Ilustrada[36] offered the Emperor a heroic
poem, written by Dr. Tito Nabuco de Araujo and
illustrated by a lithography representing the Emperor crowned by Brazil’s
Genie. The Genie appears as a male figure, sometimes an indian,
with a character that distinguishes it from the Allegories of Brazil.[37]
34.
Since
the beginning of the presence of the Portuguese court in Brazil, both the
figure of Brazil's Genie and the allegories of both Brazil and America have had
particular roles and personalities. At the wedding
party of Dom Pedro Carlos and Maria Teresa of Bragança,
in 1810, the priest Luís Goncalves describes the presence of Brazil's Genie -
an indian on horseback - as a differentiated figure,
and he also describes an allegorical float exhibited during this party:
35.
The composition, artificial and
intricately decorated, was the model of a mountain on top of which stood the
figure of ”America”: quiver over the shoulder and bow in hand, wearing a
headdress with many colored feathers and an equally adorned loin-cloth”, it
alluded to fake indians -
Europeans in indian costumes
- performing ritual dances.[38]
36.
The allegory
of America or Brazil is the result of a long tradition. In Brazil, it accepts
and crowns the emperor, and it is protected by him, given its fragile and
feminine character. However, the Genie appears with a male character, as a
warrior and a guardian, treading on the hydra that represents anarchy and
disunity, but also crowning the emperor. Thus, sometimes the functions of the
allegory and the Genie are mixed in a single representation. On the medal
coined in celebration of the coronation of Dom Pedro II, the indian figure, apparently female, crowns the emperor, but
also steps on the hydra of anarchy. On some occasions, the Genie is represented
by women, so there is not always a clear gender distinction, but more often
than not the figure of the Genie is male, and appears
closely related to the emperor and his functions. Both the Genie and the
emperor are Brazil’s protectors, its tutelary angels; both of
them are called Brazil's genies, and their functions are mixed to form a
symbolic unity that attempts to unify the nation.
37.
All in
all, we are dealing with the construction of an image of the Empire, the
Emperor and the nation identified with the monarchical model, and the Genie is
an important part of this process. At first, it represents the territory, the
peculiarities of the colony in the universe of the Portuguese Empire, with its
functions and its own conception of the traditional allegory of America. But,
gradually, the personality of the territory starts getting more defined,
getting away from the Portuguese territory to establish a bond between the
monarchy and Brazil:
38.
With the alliance between America and Dom
Pedro, which frequently appeared in the courts, the illuminations, the arches
of triumph, a discontinuity was established between this prince and the
Portuguese monarchy, weakening Afonso Henrique's authority and Dom Pedro's
fidelity to Portugal, creating an irreversible bond between the prince and
Brazil.[39]
39.
Both
the territory and the emperor are defined by their own, individualized,
differentiated peculiarities of the new nation. One of the points of
differentiation and union, although not exempt from criticism, was the symbol
of the indian, which the Empire adopts promptly in a
nationalist project, having an important presence in a little
known artwork: the façade of the Casino Fluminense. This is the first
major public permanent artistic creation in which the indian
appears as the protagonist and main figure, a fact that would not be repeated
until almost 20 years later, in the work Alegoria
do Império Brasileiro
(Allegory of the Brazilian Empire), 1874, by Francisco Manuel Chaves Pinheiro.
40.
The
façade of the Cassino Fluminense, by Severo da Silva
Lent, Quirino Antonio Vieira and João Duarte Morais was only inaugurated in 1860, but it was executed
(at least its model) in 1857. It is a mature and lasting example of national
representation in Brazil, where the ideas of territory, a nation under
construction, a civilizing project and the Empire are joined together. This
work features Brazil’s Genie, which is represented within a very strong
Indianist trend since the beginning: it seems that the image of the Genie was
recurrent in many festivities and performances, especially during the
celebration of Brazil’s Independence Day, usually represented as an indian, as attested by the following text: "the
savage, brave and bold, does not appear wearing headdresses and feathers, in
the garments Brazil's Genie used to be shown in all the dramatic images with
which national festivies would once be
solemnized".[40] The
idea of the Genie as an indian was very frequent,
more than in visual representations, in political acts, theater performances
and celebrations linked to the sovereign and his family, all of which were
events of wide repercussion. However, the Genie was not represented by
authentic indians, but by European people wearing
costumes, in an appropriation of the indigenous attributes.
41.
The
first mention to Brazil's Genie dates back to 1810, already
represented as an indian. When narrating the
festivities of the wedding of the Infante Maria Teresa and Dom Pedro
Carlos, the English merchant John Luccock states:
"Brazil's Genie made its appearance, represented by an indian
on horseback [...] ".[41]
42.
Although
there are not many preserved visual examples of the Genie, artists such as
Auguste Taunay, in the work Grupo Alegórico da Restauração
da Bahia[42] (Allegorical
Group of Restoration of Bahia), understand it as a classic warrior carrying a
shield with the head of Gorgona; Manuel de Araujo
Porto-Alegre, on the other hand, understands it as a creature with wings with a
laurel wreath, on the porch of the coronation of Emperor Pedro II, and as a
winged indian carrying a special staff on the façade
of the Cassino Fluminense. Of these works, only the façade understands the
Genie as an indian. In the visual arts it is not
common, but in the theater, especially with dramatic praise, and in the press,
the Genie is often represented as indigenous. In the theater, reinforcing the
idea of the indigenous Genie’s rendition produced a debate on the
way the figure should be dressed. The representation with classic clothes
generates the following comment: "This reference to classical culture
would be excusable in Russia or China, but everyone knows that the caboclos
in Brazil do not wear this kind of garment."[43] Thus, the Genie is understood as a caboclo and
no longer a “savage” indian, but as a half-breed and
civilized indian. Other garments refer more to the
interpretation of the indian as wild, a symbol of an
outdated civilization. "Brazil's Genie, during the singing of Gianinni’s opera A Harmonia Celestial no Brasil (Celestial Harmony in Brazil), leaves
his cave wearing a garment and weapons that symbolize the savage state and
civilization"[44]. Even in civil patriotic celebrations, the Genie is
represented as a feminine indian figure:
43.
At 9 am on March 24, after leaving the
house of the member Pedro de Azevedo, the "Volunteers of the Country” went
to the Church of the Rosary marching in procession. At the forefront of the
group, the majestic young lady Rosinha de Azevedo,
dressed in an indian garment, symbolized Brazil's
Genie, carrying the flag of the "Volunteers".[45]
44.
Brazil's
Genie is thereby inserted in a genealogy of indigenous representation, being
simultaneously the symbol of the Empire and the Emperor. It can be noticed that
the Empire makes an effort to create its own image:
45.
Thus, the message contained in the façade
is a complex manifest of political, cultural and
artistic concerns of the Empire, the materialization of its civilizing project.
The national concern is the main axis of the whole group. The national concern
as art, as the model of country the Empire proposes, as the attempt to create a
suitable image for that young nation, which will have its climax in the work of
Chaves Pinheiro, Alegoria do Império
brasileiro (Allegory of the Brazilian Empire), in
which an indian occupies the place of the Emperor and
wears his emblems.[46]
46.
The
sculpture Alegoria do Império
Brasileiro (Allegory of the Brazilian Empire) or Cabloco em
barro, symbolisando o Brasil (Caboclo in clay, symbolizing Brazil),[47] modeled in clay by Francisco Manuel Chaves Pinheiro in
1874, in real-life size, and kept in the Museum of Fine Arts of Rio de Janeiro[48],
grants the indian the main role in the composition.
The indian and the Empire merge into a single figure,
destined to be a public representation of the Empire, designed "to be
exhibited in a public square, made of bronze, three times bigger than the real
size"[49]; although in the end it was placed on the stairway of
the National Treasury until the beginning of the Republic[50]. A
representation on the citizens themselves, in the form of public sculpture,
legitimates and continues the Indianist models emerging from the pages of the
press.[51]
47.
Chaves
produced the most emblematic document of his generation, by embedding in the
title of his work the intention of the Indianist project. With the same posture
as the emperor in his official image elaborated by Pedro Américo,
which portrays the speech in the Throne Hall, Chaves' indian
carries the monarchy scepter instead of his weapon, a shield with the imperial
coat of arms instead of his cudgel. The feather headdress is on the head, but
it is the king's robe that covers the "natural nudity" of this
"noble and pure symbol of our origin."[52]
48.
The
image of the indian proposed by Pinheiro is defined
as "one of the most idealized indigenous renditions of the country",[53] "as if he had disguised a statue of Apollo with
an indigenous garment"[54], "a Greek statue dressed in a loin-cloth."[55] It seems clear, as Knauss points out, defining the
work as a "clear classicizing exercise in building the indian
image"[56], that classicism was the choice of the artist, who
creates a static male nude, strongly alludes to Greco-Roman art. Despite the work
displays a general classicism, a direct view of it, more specifically of the
face of the indian represented, shows that it does
not follow classical canons, even considering that the work is not constituted
through a detailed study of his ethnic features. The slightly slanted eyes,
high and prominent cheekbones, the big nose and the
protuberant chin do not match classic features, but do not characterize an
ethnographic study either.
49.
The
symbolic character of this depiction was highlighted for its obvious
resemblance to representations of the emperor, such as the work of Pedro Américo[57] Dom
Pedro II na Abertura da
Assembleia Geral (Dom Pedro II at the opening of the General
Assembly), in 1873, made just one year before Chaves Pinheiro’s work. Another
sculptural work also deserves to be mentioned for having influenced Pinheiro’s
choices is the large standing effigy of Pedro II sculpted in marble in 1844 by
the Danish sculptor Ferdinand Pettrich. The effigy
seems to have been cast in bronze, although there is some dissent over the
issue, and it was presented during the first National Exhibition of 1861. In
both cases, the position of the emperor is very similar to the Brazilian Empire
Allegory, replacing the sword by the shield with the imperial coat of arms.
50.
Thus,
in this dilated relationship between the indian and
the imperial image, a parallel can be drawn between the work of Chaves Pinheiro
and the façade, both considered fruits of one same desire. In the latter, the
Genie, representing the Empire, is even more concerned about the political
stability of the Empire; in the Empire Allegory, once the political sphere is
consolidated, there is a concern with the artistic field, performing the same
process. Both are images of the Empire, two representations of imperial
aspirations.
51.
In the
search for indigenous representations proposed by the present study, it seems
clear that most works were not visual works of art, but "ephemeral
creations" such as theatrical plays, civic celebrations, pieces of
literature, articles, parades and imperial
celebrations that shaped the image of the indian.
Even though the role of such representations is difficult to evaluate due to
their very ephemeral nature, it is a key element in the construction and
production of prototypes and images. Knowing these representations is extremely
important for a better understanding of larger phenomena and productions, and
for understanding their role and their degree of responsibility in imagetic conformations.
52.
An interesting
drawing by Miguel Dutra shows a triumphal arch topped by a river allegory as an
indian holding a flag of the Brazilian Empire, thus
uniting the representation of the river to the figure that intended to
represent the Empire. Unfortunately, there is no information about when or
where this arch was made or located. These details could offer us valuable
information to understand Indianism. Nevertheless, a drawing of another arch
with some similar features was made in 1848 for the arrival of Dom Pedro II, so
this example is considered to be both an antecedent to Rochet’s
river allegories, and a witness of an older tradition.
53.
Continuing
with ephemeral representations, which are less official, Alegoria
do Império Brasileiro
(Allegory of the Brazilian Empire) is an example that establishes interesting
relationships with a number of symbolic
representations published by the press in the 1860s, in which the country, the
nation, and various provinces are represented as indigenous men, women and
sometimes quite indefinite figures, whose gender is unclear. One depiction by
Henry Fleuiss, one of the key players in the
popularization of the national image as an indigenous figure, was published in
the Semana Illustrada
on April 16, 1865; it shows an allegory of the Empire which corresponds almost
identically to Chaves Pinheiro’s piece, but in a sitting position. It is also
necessary to consider that during the War of Paraguay, patriotic feelings are
intensified and the image of the indian becomes a
recurrent representation of the country. In the opinion of Murilo
de Carvalho, representing the nation as an indian
became quite common during the Empire.[58] Studying the publications of the illustrated press
during the War of Paraguay, the author shows that the emperor or the crown were
rarely represented, replaced by the figure of the indian.
During this period, there is a substantial change in the conception of patria.
The War of Paraguay is a remarkable event that united Brazilians as a nation
against a common enemy, and so representations of the motherland, the nation or
the Empire started coming out in the press more often.
The indian and his image: front and back
54.
Like
two sides of the same coin, the indians were seen
either as "decadent" and "rude", or "beautiful"
and "innocent"[59], a possible symbol of the nation or a problem for its
development. This had been happening for a long time, since, already in the
1850s, the historian Varnhagen opposed those who stated,
or at least believed that "our indians were the
real Brazilian Puritans, and the most legitimate representatives, in the past,
of nationality today”[60]. After a long text dedicated to refuting this idea,
he concludes that:
55.
the indians are
not the owners of Brazil, and the name Brazilian does not even apply to them,
for they are savages: they could not be civilized without the use of force,
which has not been as abused as it has been claimed; and finally, on no account
are they to serve as role models in the past or the present, concerning
feelings of patriotism or representations of nationality.[61]
56.
The
symbolic aspect and reality, the symbol and the man,
will be two aspects difficult to combine, a dichotomy that would become
Indianism’s inseparable companion.
Savage
and civilized Indians: civilization as a target to be reached
57.
The
issue of civilizing indians was a constant and
fundamental idea during the Empire. Following the theories about the
perfectibility of man, "when human beings are first placed in the world to
live in a natural state, a feeling breaks out in them of intrinsic desire for
development, which urges them to the mastery over the physical world, to
material improvement and moral elevation"[62].
Thus, the indians should become a part of the western
civilized society, abandoning their habits and beliefs. This process was of
great importance for the Empire, which wanted the incorporation of this population
not only due to philanthropic interests, but also to the desire to increase the
population and, therefore, promote the development of the country. In 1847, two
great strategies were presented to these purposes. The first one is inviting
foreigners to live in the country, and the second one is welcoming “the indigenous groups that wander in our
forests.”[63] That
way, they will quit being hordes, wild indians[64],
barbarians or non-domesticated indians, around
800,000 individuals in 1847, to become civilized, gentle or domestic indians, about 200,000 in the same year:[65]
58.
The village of Sao Pedro in Cabo Frio used
to be composed of indians from the Goytacas tribe, whose descendants, already in the third or
fourth generation, today cannot be singled out and statistically counted as
pertaining to a particular group.[66]
59.
With
the aim of civilizing indians in mind, many
investments were made. The aforementioned records and
the amount invested in the venture show how this was a constant concern for the
authorities. From the general budget related to the 1848-1849 period, for
example, 32,000 contos de reis were destined
to the "catechesis and civilization of indians”,
expressed in these terms, a sum which was higher than the budget received by
the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, 20,096 contos
de reis, and almost as high as the amount provided to the Secretariat of
State, 33,200 contos de reis.
60.
Therefore,
with this policy in place, the indians lost their particular condition and became part of the population,
without specific differences. The means to achieve this goal were, first of
all, the religious missions, which evangelized the indians
in order to to make them acceptable for the society;
once this was done, they taught the indians the
manners and moral principles of civilized men, in order to allow them to have
access to the second tool of civilization: labor, which, from the 17th century
on, came to distinguish the "good" from the "bad" indians. The Dutch painter Albert Eckhout, between 1641 and 1643, painted Homem
Tapuia, Mulher Tapuia,
Homem Tupi e Mulher Tupi (Tapuia Man, Tapuia Woman, Tupi Man and Tupi Woman), which are among the first works to focus on
the observation of the individual, more than previous indigenous
representations, which had responded to topics, generalities and constructions
about the South American natives as a single category, seeing them as different
and unknown individuals, as exotic cannibals, following the traditional
representations of America, like the one by de Cesare Rippa,
who showed the image of America as an armed feminine indian
figure. In the case of Ekhout, his works
61.
contain an allegory based on common sense
of this time: the possible domestication of the Tupis
and the irreducible ferocity of the Tapuias. Thus,
the Tupi man and woman are shown here with their
production (nets and baskets), working for the colonial settlements, while the Tapuia indians (which were not
cannibals, like the Tupis) are shown carrying
mutilated hands and feet, and surrounded by venomous animals.[67]
62.
This
idea would persist for a long time. In 1874, General Couto de Magalhães, convinced of the inevitable extinction of the indian race, proposes again, in the speech Region and
Wild Races he made at the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute,
using labor as a strategy to integrate indians to the
civilized society, and for such their language and habits should be studied[68]. This
savagery-civilization relationship can also be found in the United States,
where the indians have no choice but to fit in with
history, with two options: to die or to adapt.[69]
63.
Such
was the faith in changing the evolutionary stage of the indian
race that a study of cranial characteristics, based on the principles of
phrenology, tried to prove the benefits of civilization on the configuration of
the skull itself, introducing a fourth group in the theory of races: in
addition to white, black and indian, the Civilized
Indian becomes a new and differentiated category:
64.
It is advisable to collect skulls of all
races of natives, and to take the mould of some heads
of living people, in order to gather information so Moraes
can verify the most positive feature in Gall’s system: if there is truth in
this doctrine, craneoscopy should find remarkable
changes between the various protuberances of the skull of wild indians and the ones of civilized indians
or mestizos, which should be more similar to the predominant race.[70]
65.
However,
some authors questioned the Indians’ capability, portraying them as inferior
beings, not able to deal with the civilized society and, therefore, doomed to
total extinction. One of these authors, the historian Varnhagen,
says that "there are extinct species in the animal kingdom; it seems that
the indian race, due to its physical organization,
not being able to progress in the civilized environment, is doomed to this
fatal outcome."[71] But
not all the authors followed along these lines[72]; some
tried to approximate the indians to the Europeans,
affirming that "there is no doubt that the indians
belong to the Caucasian race. They have a noble face, a little effeminate, a
distinguished profile, almost Greek, a slender body shape, a nice way of
walking, slim extremities.”[73]
66.
For
other authors, such as Silvio Romero, the national symbol could be found in the
mestizo. Silvio demonstrates the mistake of celebrating the indian as a national symbol of Brazilian nativism, instead
of the one that should be in fact the assertion of the cultural difference,
according to the statement of the Brazilian Volksgeist:
the mestizo.[74]
67.
There
is a particular work of art which, based on its description, seems to allude to
the situation of the civilized indians, and which
becomes one of the few examples that we can consider to be based on the
surrounding reality. The artist Rodolfo Bernardelli
was inspired on the surrounding environment to create Índio
em repouso
(Indian at rest), also called Saudade da Tribo
(Missing the tribe), and modeled in 1874:
68.
It is an indian;
he has completed his task; sitting on a rock, resting his weary limbs, he still
holds the mattock, and remembers his country, and misses his tribe, from where
he was taken away by the catechesis to bring him to live in the world of
civilized men: labor.[75]
69.
This work
reflects the civilizing concerns of the Empire, but the vision of the artist,
or at least the reception of the work[76], goes
beyond these ideas, worrying about the Other, about the effect that the
intended improvement was causing on this individual or group, an improvement
which was also analyzed in a scientific way, taking into consideration the
effects that the nostalgia produced in civilized indians:
70.
[...] The nostalgia of the indians
abruptly taken away from vastness and their tribes is manifested by phenomena
which are less alarming in appearance, but which are physiologically more
severe: loss of appetite, secretion disorders, visceral disorders,
hallucinations, hepatitis, a mix of sadness and bleak melancholy, edemas, calm
followed by taciturn mood; they refuse everything that is offered, they feel
bothered with no apparent cause, they remain silent... If someone speaks to
them in their native language, they take a deep breath and feel happy. [...] In
this state of mind, whose phosphorescence is colored by the magnificent
landscapes of the Brazilian solitudes, it is a vain effort to seek for a more
active agent; children of nature, they suffer such great physical and moral
influences when submitted to civilization that the corollary of this hyperexcitability provoked nostalgia, the most
beautiful characteristic of such intimate and generous frankness.[77]
71.
The
sculptor presents himself, as stated by Silva, as an innovative artist, along
the lines of the works of Almeida Reis and Rochet. The critics of the time
praised the fidelity of the presented figure, showing the characteristics of
the race, but without any economy that might damage the greatness of the
subject, or any exaggeration that would make it absurd[78]. And the critic notices the ideological and critical
content of the piece, and the problem it reflects. That indian,
with his working tools and a Christian cross around his neck, thus civilized,
misses his land, his identity. He is alone, but the image is a composition,
it represents an idea, it tells a story, that lonely figure expresses an entire
poem.[79] Bernardelli expresses himself, or at least this is the way the
critics see his work, like the traveling artists of the first half of the 19th
century, who narrated their experiences, not always real, through drawings and
paintings with a certain documental nature. It is a different artistic
experience that reflected an important objective for the Empire and the
civilized nation.
Indianism after Indianism: inventions and reinventions
72.
In the
present text, we did not go further than the 1870’s in our analysis, and this
limitation is not accidental, for, although we cannot pinpoint a precise
turning point, a concrete date from which to define the beginning and the end
of something, substantial changes in the understanding and use of Indianism
during the 1870's can be observed. It may be said that in this decade the idea
of the noble savage no longer made sense; it was seen as an
outdated symbol, a construction from the time of independence[80].
Gradually, the "material evidence of the reality of indian
life required a reassessment of the utility of the indian
figure as a representative of the modern nation"[81]. The
year 1874 was an interesting year from our point of view, bringing together three
major productions: in the sculptural field, Alegoria
do Império Brasileiro
(Allegory of the Brazilian Empire) and Índio em repouso (Indian
at rest), and in the literary field Ubirajara
(Ubirajara) by José de Alencar,
which constitute three sides of the same phenomenon.
73.
Alegoria do Império Brasileiro (Allegory of the Brazilian Empire) is the
climax of a long relationship process between the Empire and the indian image, which is rooted in the traditional
representations of America, in line with European tradition, and intensified by
the way the concept of homeland, of nation is understood. This concept was
influenced by the War of Paraguay, with a widespread dissemination of
indigenous images symbolizing the nation, the Empire, the provinces, the country,
etc. On the other hand, Índio em repouso (Indian
at rest) shows a different perspective: it is neither historical, nor
allegorical, symbolic or representative. The indian is seen as an individual, not as a concept.
74.
Rodolpho
Bernardelli managed perhaps to strike a balance in
the representation of the indigenous figure, respecting "the fidelity of
the presented figure, showing the characteristics of the race, but without any
economy that might damage the greatness of the subject, or any exaggeration that
would make it absurd",[82] something
that Almeida Reis could not reach. Despite being classified as the most correct
model of the American indian[83], or
precisely for this reason, Almeida Reis’ work did not find success or
acceptance at the time of its creation, eight years earlier than Bernardelli's successful work, which would be chosen by the
Imperial Academy to be sent to the 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia,
representing Brazilian art. It is significant that this work by Bernardelli represented not a savage, but a civilized indian, a mestizo, a person of mixed race, as
promoted by the Empire:
75.
a policy of fraternity and brotherhood
based on miscegenation. This type of racial policy became one of the
ideological-aesthetic formulas peculiar to the Brazilian "being".
Miscegenation as a differentiating and, therefore, national factor.[84]
76.
Unfortunately,
Bernardelli’s piece was lost, depriving us of an
essential source of information, and leaving space for speculation. It seems
this work was able to convince both the Imperial Academy and critics who were
eager for renovations, and to become a mirror in which the different groups
could observe their longings and desires.
77.
In the
same year, José de Alencar published his work Ubirajara (Ubirajara),
seen "as Alencar’s protest against those who
announced the death of Indianism, and as the refinement of an aesthetic and
ideological program that had begun with O Guarani (The Guarani Indian),
[...]"[85]. Alencar, then, was
defending a program started in 1857, precisely the year in which the model of
the façade of the Casino Fluminense was concluded and appeared in the press,
confronting those who claimed the death of Indianism.
78.
The
death of Indianism, taking into account the work
produced during this period, should be understood more like a continuous
reinvention, since it implies a change of direction. After the first half of
the 1870’s, painting takes back its primacy. Between 1878 and 1884, great
pictorial Indianist compositions are created: Exéquias
de Atala (Funeral of Atala) by Rodrigues Duarte; Exéquias de Camorim (Funeral of Camorim)
by Antônio Firmino Monteiro; A elevação da cruz (The elevation of the cross) by Pedro Peres, Lindoia (Lindoia) and Iracema (Iracema) by Jose Maria de Medeiros; Marabá (Maraba), A morte de Atalá (Atala’s Death) and O último
Tamoio (The Last Tamoio)
by Rodolfo Amoedo, among others. This pictorial multitude contrasts
with a scarcity of sculptures, whose works produced at the time are virtually
reduced to A Faceira (Provocative Girl). This
work, by Rodolpho Bernardelli, has a new inspiration,
different from the standards seen in sculpture so far, and, according to
Cavalcanti, had the intention of pleasing the public in order
to sell for a higher price.[86]
79.
Indianist
sculptures, thus, predominate between the early 1860s and the late 1870s,
between two periods dominated by painting. Initially focused on the history and
evangelization of the indians as well as on
literature, they will later become strongly inspired on literature. Gradually,
though, the indigenous image leaves the literary and symbolic fields to become
a more realistic figure, as it has always been a concern to understand the indians from an anthropological point of view, an interest
which has one of its most important moments in the Anthropological Exhibition
of 1882, in Rio de Janeiro. At that time, Décio Villares’ paintings portray indians
as individuals with proper names: savage and civilized indians
who, once named, come into existence. Also, the collected sculptures of these indians have a very different nature, since they are moulded in papier mache by Leon Despres of Cluny, who almost 20 years earlier made Família de índios atacados por uma
serpente (Family of Savages Attacked by a Snake).
The comparison between the two works shows that times were undoubtedly
changing. Some of these effigies, preserved at the National History Museum in
Rio de Janeiro, and also by the lens of the photographer
Marc Ferrez, would respond to very different
interests:
80.
The collectionism
of the late 19th century sought to avoid losing not only the culture of the
indigenous people, at the time understood as doomed to extinction, but also
what their artefacts could reveal about the origin and evolution of humankind.
Thus, these objects were considered valuable due to their ability to testify to
the primitive stages of human culture, as well as a to common past which
confirmed the European triumph and superiority.[87]
81.
The
history and anthropology involved in the indigenous process could not share the
symbolic and allegorical image of the indian. This common
origin, so intensively desired, failed to convince or to unite the population,
arousing strong criticism precisely for the literary nature of its inspiration,
which was oblivious to any reality. It created a totally imbalanced situation
between what art proposed and, for example, what history claimed - at least
some of its schools of thought. Just like the positivists, who also did not
share the idealized view of the indian and proposed a
regeneration of the "fetishistic tribes"[88].
According to them, the idealization of the indigenous figure as the national
symbol was a wrong choice:
82.
It is necessary to fight this obsession to
which Gonçalves Dias contributed powerfully, which reduces our current and
future aesthetic movement to the idealization of wildlife. We are not Tapuias, we are Portuguese, Western Europeans; our
traditions are rooted in the Old Continent. In our tradition, the indian only becomes a modifying element because of the interratial mix that took place with white and black
people.[89]
83.
Thus,
from the 1870s onward, the indigenous scenario acquires a greater complexity
with strong input from scientific and anthropological trends, and more modern
views, linked to political and social movements, which, in some way, were
responsible for announcing the death of Indianism, or at least of a kind of
Indianism, as Alencar pointed out.
Final
considerations
84.
Indianism
and Indianisms, multiple visions, developments, appropriations and the use of
the image of the primordial inhabitants of Brazil, a symbol of something purely
national, the image of the Empire, country, homeland or nation, of the wild and
barbaric creature, of the mestizos and the civilized indians,
of the decadent race, of the object of fascination for civilized citizens, of
museum objects, of the object of scientific study, of the thousands of uses and
conceptions of the indians.
85.
Since
the arrival of Europeans in America, the indian is
considered a symbol connected to the American land and, therefore, to the
Brazilian land, both as a colony and as an independent territory. The
allegories of America and Brazil, O Gênio do Brasil (Brazil's Genie), river representations,
constitute privileged themes in the representation of the indigenous figure,
but they are also used for historical and decorative compositions. Such is the
repercussion these images reach that they start appearing as illustrations in adverstisements for a number of
products and populating literary creations, the pages of the press, works of
art. But what is the role of sculpture in this Indianism and its
representations?
86.
Tracing
the genealogy of works of art which show representations of indians,
several main branches can be distinguished: portraits of the indian in his natural environment, as an inhabitant and an
intrinsic element of Brazil's natural exuberance; works of historical
inspiration and representations of the catechesis; works of literary
inspiration and others presenting the indian as a
symbol and representation. These different inspirations will vary in the level
of "naturalism" of the indian figure,
ranging from detailed observations of the traits of different ethnic groups,
such as in the works of Louis Rochet and Almeida Reis, to the idealization of
the indian, like in the European allegories about
America.
87.
Between
1840 and 1889, it is possible to single out three different periods in the Fine
Arts: the first period, between the 1840s and the 1860s, is dominated by
painting, but with a strong presence of sculptural production; the second
period is dominated by sculpture, between the 1860s and the first half of the
1870s; and a third period is divided into two different parts: the first one
showing a pictorial supremacy, mainly inspired on literature; and the second
part with an "anthropological" approach.
88.
Sculpture
presents some particular characteristics that, in our
opinion, separate it from painting and literature by creating its own
personality and purpose. It is significant that the vast majority of imperial
sculptures were created within a very precise chronological period, between
1845 and 1875, and with an especially relevant concentration of works between
1857 and 1875: the Frontão do Cassino
Fluminense (Façade of the Cassino Fluminense), 1857; Desembarque
de Pedro Alvares Cabral em
Porto Seguro (Pedro Álvares Cabral Disembarking
in Porto Seguro), 1861; Monumento a Dom Pedro I (Monument to Dom
Pedro I), 1862; Família de selvagens atacados por uma serpente
(Family of Savages Attacked by a Snake), 1862; O Paraíba
(The Paraíba), 1866; Combate
de dois índios (Two
Indians Fighting), 1868; Índio em repouso (Indian
at rest) and Alegoria do Império Brasileiro (Allegory
of the Brazilian Empire), both from 1874, and À espreita
(Lurking) from 1875[90]. This "sculptural period" between 1878 and
1884 establishes the foundation for the full development of pictorial
Indianism.
89.
It is
interesting to try to determine approximately some significant dates for this
sculptural period. In 1856, a great Indianist novel was published with direct
support of the emperor: A confederação dos Tamoios (The Confederation of Tamoios)
by Gonçalves de Magalhães, and in 1875, Ubirajara (Ubirajara) by
José de Alencar. The development of the Indianist
novel is produced around the same dates as the sculptural period, and they
follow almost parallel paths, with little influence from literature on
sculpture, which further reinforces the idea of a clear
differentiation. This distinction is even clearer if we notice that painting is
inspired on literature during this period, based on Atalá
(Atala) by François-René de Chateaubriand, Fuga
de Atalá (Atala’s Escape) and Exéquias de Atalá (Atala’s
Funeral) by Frederick Tirone in 1860; and on Caramurú
(Caramuru) by Jose Santa Rita Durão,
as well as Paraguassú and Diogo
Alvares Correa by Jules Le Chevrel in 1861; or Moema
by Victor Meirelles in 1866. On many occasions, the paintings showed in the
General Exhibition of Fine Arts were complemented by a small literary or
historical text, explaining the composition or its inspiration, and bringing
together painting and literature, or painting and history, as it was the case
with A primeira missa
no Brasil (The First Mass in Brazil).
90.
Sculpture
rarely seeks its inspiration on literature, history, or everyday scenes, and
focuses on symbolic-representative depictions. Brasil
como um índio
(Brazil as an Indian), by Pettrich in 1845 is similar to Alegoria do Império Brasileiro (Allegory
of the Brazilian Empire), 1874, which marks the boundaries of the
"sculptural period". Alegoria do Império Brasileiro was
designed as a public monument and features important indigenous
representations. An indian is the protagonist of a
public monument for the first time in 1857, in the façade of the Cassino
Fluminense, inaugurated in 1860; and later, in a great imperial monument: the
group dedicated to Don Pedro by Louis Rochet, inaugurated in 1862. Major
initiatives show the indian as a protagonist or a
secondary element. The French artists Louis Rochet and Leon Despres
of Cluny, Almeida Reis, who produces his work in Paris, the Danish artist
Ferdinand Pettrich, all of them have a great
responsibility in the construction of the indigenous sculptural image, just
like other foreign artists who also produce Indianist works, such as Karl Linde
and Steffens.
91.
A
peculiarity of these works is the absence of proper names. Their names allude
to allegories of the Empire, river representations, Brazil's Genie, generic
indigenous representations, families of indians,
indigenous scenes of hunting, fishing and fighting.
There are no characterized individuals, even if fictitious, such as Lindoia, Moema or any other
character. The sculptured figures have no names, depriving the indians of any individual character, turning them into
myths. By resorting to the definition of myth: any character, event or particularity which, despite not being real,
symbolizes a generalization that must be admitted, we can understand how the indians are deprived of individuality in favor of a
mythical or symbolic construction.
92.
The
oscillation between myth and reality was a constant in the Indianist movement,
as we can see in the last major exhibition of the Empire, the World’s Fair in
Paris 1889. In this exhibition, the latest Indianist-inspired sculptures of the
Empire were presented: six river allegories located at the entrance of the
Brazilian pavilion. In the Philadelphia International Exhibition of 1876, among
the works presented by the Imperial Academy, the works of Rodolfo Bernardelli Índio em repouso
(Recollection of the tribe) and À espreita (The
indian peeping[91]) were selected. However, in the painting section,
most of the works depicted landscapes, war scenes, a portrait of the emperor
and other scenes, as well as A primeira missa do Brasil (The First
Mass in Brazil), of historical theme, where the main focus
is the discovery of Brazil and the catechesis of the indians,
in line with other previous works, like those of Mendes de Carvalho or Rugendas. According to Schwarcz,
"passive and idealized indians form the scene
without changing it fundamentally: they are almost an element attached to the
tropical landscape.[92]" They are figures that do not interfere with the
scene, figures that are not the main theme, like they will be later in other
compositions such as Brasil como um índio
(Brazil as an Indian) by Pettrich, 1845, Frontão do Cassino Fluminense (Façade of
Cassino Fluminense, 1857), Moema (1866) by
Victor Meireles, O Paraíba
(The Paraíba, 1866) by Almeida Reis, or Índio em repouso (Indian at rest) by Bernardelli,
and Alegoria do Império
Brasileiro (Allegory of the Brazilian Empire,
1874), among others.
93.
The
Paris Exhibition appears as the end of an era for the Imperial policy, which
featured exhibitions illustrating the progress of nations, with "the
Western world represented the peak of civilization and the indigenous cultures,
the past of humankind.[93]" For that event, the Brazilian pavilion was
decorated with allegories[94] of the
Amazon, Tocantins, Madeira, São Francisco, Parnaíba
and Paraná rivers[95]. As old fellows, Indianism and river representations
meet again, to introduce Brazil to the world. Six classical figures, adorned
with feathers, weapons, shovels and fruits and vegetation from the land become
again a symbol, a representation, resuming a long tradition.
94.
This
will be one of the last occasions during the imperial period in which the indian will be used in sculpture, returning precisely to
its old scenarios: river images as territorial representations, or as a
representation of Brazilians themselves, but the indian
will appear continuously with multiple functions, being converted into "a
kind of malleable mass, according to the interests of the various groups of the
country"[96], causing a series of "projects" or
different proposals, a multitude of "Indianisms", presented in this
article under the light of one of its multiple faces: sculpture.
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English
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_________________________
[1] Rio de Janeiro State
University / PNAP. National
Library Foundation.
[2] MARTIUS, F. von. Como
se deve escrever a história do Brasil. Jornal do Instituto Histórico e
Geográfico Brasileiro. number 24, January 1845.
[3] BARDI, P. M. História da Arte Brasileira (pintura,
escultura, arquitetura, outras artes). São Paulo: Edições Melhoramentos, 1975.
[4] SILVA, M. do C. C. da. A
obra Cristo e a mulher adúltera e a formação italiana do escultor Rodolfo
Bernardelli. Master's degree
thesis, IFCS, UFRJ, 2005, p.12.
[5] GUTIÉRREZ, A. O Guarani
e a construção do mito do herói. Revista de Letras , number 29(2), v. 1, January/July, 2009.
[6] Three colossal statues in plaster representing Brazil, Portugal and France, made in 1845 by Fernando Pettrich, and offered by him to a museum; an indian represents Brazil, a warrior of the Middle Ages
represents Portugal, and Napoleon with an eagle represents France. AZEVEDO, M. D. M. de. O
Rio de Janeiro; sua história, monumentos, homens notáveis, usos e
curiosidades. Rio de Janeiro: Liv. Brasiliana Ed, 1969, p. 238.
[7] CHILLÓN, A. M. O Gênio do Brasil e as musas. Um manifesto
ideológico numa nação em construção. 19&20,
Rio de Janeiro, v. IX, number 1, January/June
2014. Available at: <http://www.dezenovevinte.net/obras/obras_amc.htm>.
Accessed on April 4th,
2014.
[8] Written
description in the museum catalog and in various publications: ALFREDO, M. F. Diálogo neoclassicismo/romantismo na obra de Chaves Pinheiro. Master's degree
thesis, Visual Arts Post Graduation Program, EBA, UFRJ, Rio
de Janeiro, 2009; SILVA, M. do. C. C. da. Representações do índio na arte
brasileira do século XIX, Revista de História da Arte e Arqueologia, number 8, July-December 2007, pp.
63-71.
[9] A Actualidade, April 19, 1863.
[10] Ibidem.
[11] KNAUSS, P. Negro
Horácio: Louis Rochet e a escultura antropológica no
século XIX. Anais do XXVI Simpósio Nacional de História - São Paulo:
ANPUH, 2011, p. 2.
[12] KNAUSS, P. Jogo de
olhares: índios e negros na escultura do século XIX entre a França
e o Brasil. História, v. 32, number 1,January/June 2013, p. 127.
[13] ZANINI, W. História geral
da arte no Brasil. São Paulo: Instituto Moreira Salles, 1983, p. 410.
[14] ZANINI, op. cit.
[15] KNAUSS, 2011, op. cit.
[16] SANTOS, G, R. dos. O
estatuário brasileiro C. C. Almeida Reis. v. VII de Espólio literário de Generino dos Santos: Humaniadas:
o mundo, a humanidade, o homem. Rio de Janeiro: Editor Typ.
do Jornal do Commercio, 1938.
[17] MORAES, A. J. de M. Jornal
da tarde, November 2nd, 1871.
[18] RÍOS, A. M de los. Grandjean de Montigny e a evolução da arte brasileira.
Rio de Janeiro: A Noite, 1941, p. 234.
[19] SOUZA, I. L. C. de S. Pátria
coroada: o Brasil como corpo politico
autônomo, 1780-1831. São Paulo: Prismas,
1999, p. 219.
[20] RÍOS,
op. cit., p. 236. Medal made by Zephyrin
Ferrez representing the temple of
Minerva - rivers do not appear in the piece, only a shield with
a vegetal decoration.
[21] SOUZA, op. cit., pp. 300-301. As it is in Versailles, where the main
rivers of France are represented.
[22] Monument built in the "Campo de Sant´Anna"
in honor of the heroes of the Paraguay war, Semana
Ilustrada, February 2nd, 1873.
[23] A República, June
20th, 1872, p. 1.
[24] BANDEIRA, J; XEXÉO, P.
M.C; CONDURU, R. Missão Artística. Rio de Janeiro: Sextante Artes, 2003,
p. 187.
[25] RÍOS, op. cit., p. 239.
[26] Jornal do Comercio, July 2nd, 1841.
[27] O despertador, June
12th, 1841.
[28] MIGLIACCIO, L. A
Escultura monumental no Brasil do Século XIX. A criação de uma iconografia
brasileira e as suas relações com a arte internacional. Anais do XXIII
Colóquio do Comitê Brasileiro de História da Arte. Rio de Janeiro, Editora
do EBHA, 2004, v. 1, p. 240.
[29] SCHWARCZ, L. M. O
Império em procissão: ritos e símbolos do Segundo Reinado. Rio de Janeiro:
J. Zahar, 2001, p. 22.
[30] SOUZA, op. cit. p. 222.
[31] MIGLIACCIO,
op. cit., p. 239.
[32] KNAUSS, 2011, op. cit. , p. 2.
[33] TREVISAN, A. R. A
Construção Visual da Monarquia Brasileira: Analysis of
Four Works of Jean-Baptiste Debret. 19&20. Rio de Janeiro, v. IV, n. 3, july 2009.
Available at: <http://www.dezenovevinte.net/obras/obras_jbd_art.htm>
Accessed on March 23rd, 2014.
SOUZA, op. cit. p. 245.
[35] SCHWARCZ, 2001, op. cit.
[36]The publication Correio Mercantil
from November 12th, 1865 states that it was
published in Semana Ilustrada,
number 257.
[37] CHILLÓN,
op. cit.
[38] GUTIÉRREZ, op. cit., p. 9.
[39] SOUZA, op. cit., p. 225.
[40] Correio
Mercantil, February 26th, 1855
[41] GUTIÉRREZ, op. cit., p. 9.
[42] The newspaper O Jornal do Brasil on August 27th, 1941
states that this sketch was done for a public monument that would be built in
Bahia, but most of the critics believe it was done for a bas-relief. It was published
in Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro on May 25th 1822,
and used as a picture to honor the dead in the war of Bahia.
[43] A harmonia celestial no Brasil (Celestial harmony
in Brazil), May 2nd, 1851. "Libreto"
by Gioacchino Gianinni.
[44] Correio
Comercial, November 30th, 1851.
[45] Correio Mercantil, June 16th, 1865, p. 3.
[46] CHILLÓN, op. cit.
[47] There is dissent when it comes to how the age of this piece should be
established. 1872 is commonly accepted, but, as Alfredo (2013) points out, the
piece was made in 1874 to be exhibited in the General Exhibition of Fine Arts.
A direct observation of the piece confirms this dating, which appears on the
side of the base of the sculpture....
[48] Registration number 2571. Donated by Élio Pederneiras in 1951. 192 x 75 x 31 cm
[49] CHRISTO, M. de C. V.
Indianismo na década de 1860: exposições e crítica de arte. (Indianism in the 1860 decade) - Boletim
Grupo de Estudos Arte & Fotografia - Anais do VI Seminário Arte, Cultura e
Fotografia. São Paulo: CAP-ECA-USP, n. 5, 2012.
[50] ALFREDO, 2009, op. cit,
s/p.
[51] Previously, there existed indigenous representations, although less
known, such as the logo of the newspaper "O Grito
Nacional”. The creation of this
Indianist iconography and the formation of the visual image of the motherland
in the press pages becomes a fact of great importance, which is considered as a
key moment in a wider process.
[52] SCHWARCZ, L. M. As barbas do imperador:
D. Pedro II, um monarca nos trópicos (D. Pedro, an emperor from the tropics). São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 147.
[53] COSTA, R. S. O corpo
indígena ressignificado: Marabá e O último
Tamoio de Rodolfo Amoedo e a retórica
nacionalista do final do Segundo Império. Master's Thesis. Post graduation program in History, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências
Humanas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 2013, p. 41.
[54] COSTA, op. cit., p. 42.
[55]COLI, J. Idealização do índio
moldou a cultura nacional. Available at: <http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fol/brasil500/imagens5.htm>. Accessed on
June 10th, 2014.
[56] KNAUSS, Paulo. Jogo de
olhares: índios e negros na escultura do século XIX entre a França
e o Brasil. História (São Paulo), v. 32, n. 1, January/June
2013, p. 128.
[57] SCHWARCZ, 2008, op. cit., p. 147. CHRISTO, op. cit.
[58] CARVALHO, J. M. de. Pontos
e bordados: escritos de história e política. Belo Horizonte: Ed. UFMG,
1999, pp. 243-244.
[59] ALEGRE, M. S. P. Imagem
e representação do índio no século XIX. In: GRUPIONI, L. D. B. (org.) Índios
no Brasil. São Paulo: Ministério da Educação e do Desporto, 1992, p. 67.
[60] VARNHAGEN, F. A. História
Geral do Brazil. v. 1. Rio de Janeiro: Laemmert, 1845, p. 15.
[61] Ibidem, p.28.
[62] PARRON, T. Cartas a
favor da escravidão. São Paulo, Hedra, 2008. Apud
MIYOSHI, A. Moema é morta. Doctoral thesis. Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 2010, p. 139.
[63] Annuario político, histórico e
estatístico do Brazil, 1847, p. 37.
[64] CUNHA, M. C. da. História
dos índios no Brasil. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2008, p. 136.
[65] Ibidem, p. 383.
[66] Ministério do Império, 1855.
[67] CUNHA, op. cit., s.p,
(illustration between 110 and 111 pages).
[68] MIYOSHI, op. cit., p. 141.
[69] Ibidem, p. 133.
[70] Ministério do Império,
1857.
[71] CUNHA, op. cit., p.
135.
[72] Knowledge on the different racial theories in Brazil in the 19th Century: SCHWARCZ, L. M. O espetáculo das
raças: cientistas, instituições e questão
racial no Brasil 1870-1930. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1993.
[73] Annaes de
Medicina Brasiliense, agosto de 1848.
[74] CHIARETTO, M. O nativismo crítico e germanista de Sílvio Romero. O eixo e a roda.
v. 21, n. 2, 2012.
[75] SILVA, 2005, op. cit.,
p.15.
[76] It would be interesting to evaluate how conscious the artist was of the
fact that he was giving his work this critical or contemporaneous character, or
if this was the interpretation of the critics.
[77] MORAES, A. J. de M. Jornal
da tarde, November 2nd, 1871, p. 31.
[78] SILVA, 2011 op. cit., p. 64.
[79] DIAVOLINO, G. Bellas Artes. Mepistopheles.
Rio de Janeiro: year 1, n. 32, p. 6, January, 1875.
[80] SILVA, 2007, op. cit.,
p. 65.
[81] ANDERMANS, J.
Espetáculos da diferença: a Exposição Antropológica Brasileira de 1882. Revista
Topoi, v. 3, July/December 2004.
[82] SILVA, 2007, op. cit.,
p. 64.
[83] MORAES, A. J. de M. op.
cit.
[84] CARRIZO, S. Fronteiras da imaginação. Os románticos brasileiros: mestiçagem e nação. Niterói:
Editora Universidade Federal Fluminense, 2001, pp.
155-156.
[85] Ibidem, pp. 133-134.
[86] CAVALCANTI, A. M. T. Entre a Europa e o Brasil: a faceira,
escultura de Rodolpho Bernardelli,
e a necessidade de agradar ao
público. In: CAVALCANTI, A. M T.; DAZZI. C; VALLE, A (Org.).
Oitocentos, Arte Brasileira do Império à Primeira República. 11ª ed. Rio de Janeiro: EBA-UFRJ, 2008, v. 1, pp. 159-166.
[87] CUNHA, op. cit., p.
104.
[88] NASCIMENTO, F. R. A
imagem do índio na segunda metade do século XIX. Master's
thesis. Visual Arts Post-Graduation Program, EBA, UFRJ,
Rio de Janeiro, 1991. p. 75.
[89] AZZI, R. A concepção da ordem
social segundo o positivismo ortodoxo brasileiro. São Paulo: Edições Loyola, 1980, p.111.
[90] Rodolpho Bernardelli
sculpted À espreita, also called Um índio surpreendido por um réptil in 1875. The theme of inspiration for this work
is very close
to Despres'. SILVA, 2005, op. cit., p. 17.
[91] International Exhibition, 1876. Official catalogue. Part
II. Philadelphia: Centennial
Catalogue Company by John Nagle
and company, 1876.
[92] SCHWARCZ,
2008, op. cit., p. 147.
[93] Ibidem
p. 389.
[94] The São Francisco River has interesting similarities with Brazil’s Genie, and also with Doríforo, almost a classic figure adorned with feathers,
establishing a connection between ancient times to the tropical Empire.
[95]
SCHWARCZ, 2008, op. cit., p.
403.
[96] COSTA,
op. cit., p. 72.