Eliseu Visconti, born Eliseo D'Angelo (30 July 1866 – 15 October 1944), was an Italian-born Brazilian painter, cartoonist, and teacher. He is considered one of the very few Impressionist painters of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He is considered the initiator of the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

in Brazil.

Training

In 1884 he entered the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios do

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, where he studied under Victor Meirelles. Parallel to his studies in the Liceu, he entered Brazil's Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, studying under professors

Henrique Bernardelli Henrique Bernardelli (15 July 1857 – 6 April 1936) was a Brazilian painter. Life and Works Henrique Bernardelli was born in Valparaiso, Chile. He was the brother of sculptor Rodolfo, and painter and violinist Félix. In 1865 he moved with ...

, Rodolfo Amoedo and Jose Maria de Medeiros. In 1888 he received a gold medal at the Academy. Like many of his contemporaries, including some of his teachers, he was involved in the effort to renew the Academy's teaching methods, deemed obsolete and was among the creators of the short-lived "Ateliê Livre", together with professors João Zeferino da Costa, Rodolfo Amoedo, Henrique Bernardelli and Rodolfo Bernardelli.

Exhibitions

Thanks to a prize received in 1892, Visconti travelled to Paris, where he attended the École des Beaux Arts the following year. He also took classes at the and the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (; ÉnsAD) also known as Arts Decos' and École des Arts décoratifs, is a public grande école of art and design, constituent member of PSL Research University. The school is located in the R ...

, where he was a pupil of

master

Eugène Grasset Eugène Samuel Grasset (; 25 May 1845 – 23 October 1917) was a Swiss decorative artist who worked in Paris, France in a variety of creative design fields during the Belle Époque. He is considered a pioneer in Art Nouveau design. Biography ...

. He was accepted at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

of the Société des Artistes Français. As one of the Brazilian representatives to the Exposition Universelle 1900 he exhibited the paintings ''Gioventú'' and ''Oréadas'', for which he received a silver medal. Back in Brazil, Visconti exhibited in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and obtained the first place in a contest for the drawing of postal stamps for the Brazilian Casa da Moeda. He traveled again to Europe, where he exhibited at the Paris

of 1905 the portrait of the artist Nicolina Vaz de Assis now at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes. In this same year, he was invited to paint the stage curtain for the Teatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro which he completed in his studio in Paris.

Teaching activities

In June 1906, he was selected to replace Henrique Bernardelli as a professor of painting at the

Escola Nacional de Belas Artes Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times. A royal letter of 20 Nov 1800 by John VI of Portugal established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e ...

, the same Imperial Academia renamed after the proclamation of the republic. He accepted the position the following year after returning to Brazil, where he remained a teacher until 1913. Among his disciples were painters Marques Junior and Henrique Cavalleiro.

Works

Decorative schemes executed for the National Library or Biblioteca Nacional in (Rio de Janeiro) date from this period as does another gold medal he received at the International Exhibition of Saint-Louis (

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...

), in 1904, for the painting ''Recompensa de São Sebastião'' (see external links). The museum of Santiago of the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

acquired his ''Sonho Místico'' (''Mystical Dream'') in 1912. In 1913, Visconti returned to Europe in order to paint large scale panels for the "foyer" of the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro. His plans to return were interrupted by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

so he stayed in France until 1920. The resulting paintings for the "foyer" were sent to Brazil during the war, in 1915. In 1922 his triptych "Lar" gained him the Medal of Honor in a large exhibition created in Rio de Janeiro to commemorate the first centennial of Brazilian Independence, the Exposição do Centenário. The following year Visconti painted the mural decoration of Rio de Janeiro's municipal council hall. In 1924, he painted the panel depicting the signature of the first Republican Constitution, for the old federal court, also in Rio de Janeiro. File:EliseuVisconti-P352-Dorso de mulher (3).jpg, ''Woman's Back'', 1895 File:Eliseu Visconti - Cena bíblica (Ló e suas filhas).jpg, ''Lot and his Daughters'', circa 1913 File:Eliseu Visconti - As duas irmãs ou No verão.jpg, ''The two sisters, or, In summer'', 1894 File:Eliseu Visconti - Homem com gorro vermelho.jpg, ''Man with a Red Cap'', 1894 File:GIOVENTÙ - OST - 65 x 49 cm - 1898 - MNBA-Ibram-Minc, Rio de Janeiro.jpg, '' Gioventù'', 1898 File:Eliseu Visconti - Roda de Crianças.jpg, ''Circle of Children'', circa 1918 File:Eliseu Visconti - O beijo c. 1910.jpg, ''The Kiss'', 1910

References

External links

Official page and Eliseu Visconti Catalogue Raisonné

* ttps://eliseuvisconti.com.br/obra/p331/ Gold Medal in Universal Exposition of Saint Louis - USA - 1904
Biography Eliseu Visconti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Eliseu Brazilian painters 1866 births 1944 deaths Académie Julian alumni Italian emigrants to Brazil People from the Province of Salerno Painters from Campania Art Nouveau painters Brazilian Impressionist painters Italian Impressionist painters