Victor Brecheret was an Italian-Brazilian sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

. He lived most of his life in São Paulo, except for his studies in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in his early twenties. Brecheret's work combines techniques of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an modernist

Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...

 sculpture with references to his native country through the physical characteristics of his human forms and visual motifs drawn from Brazilian folk art

Folk art

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....

. Many of his subjects are figures from the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 or classical mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

.

Brecheret was one of the first Brazilian modernists to achieve success. In 1921 his sculpture Eve was acquired by the São Paulo city hall. In 1922 his work was exhibited in the foyer of the Municipal Theatre during the Week of Modern Art

Week of Modern Art

The Modern Art Week was an arts festival in São Paulo, Brazil, that ran from February 11 to February 18, 1922...

 (Semana de Arte Moderna). His O Grupo was acquired by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 government in 1934 for the Musée Jeu de Paume

Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume

The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art in the north-west corner of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.The building was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III...

; it was later moved to the public library at La Roche-sur-Yon

La Roche-sur-Yon

La Roche-sur-Yon is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.It is the capital of the department. Its inhabitants are called Yonnais.-History:...

, where it remains on display. His best-known work, the massive Monument às Bandeiras at the Parque Ibirapuera in São Paulo, was proposed (in the form of a plaster miniature) in 1920, begun in 1936, and completed on January 25, 1953.

Birthplace controversy

Brecheret's official Brazilian birth certificate lists his birthplace as São Paulo, but his son Victor maintains that he was in fact born in Farnese, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The issue has been one part of a legal conflict between Brecheret's son and daughter. The birth certificate is based on a register made in 1930 when Brecheret was already 36 years old upon his request.

External links

• Official Website of the Instituto Victor Brecheret in English
• The Marajoara art of Victor Brecheret, by the Instituto Victor Brecheret.