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Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
(as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist,
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is credited with having introduced
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
landscape architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...
to Brazil. He was known as a modern nature artist and a public urban space designer. His work had a great influence on
tropical garden A tropical garden is a type of garden that features tropical plants and requires heavy rainfall or a decent irrigation or sprinkler system for watering. These gardens typically need fertilizer and heavy mulching. Tropical gardens are no longe ...
design in the 20th century.
Water garden Water garden or aquatic garden, is a term sometimes used for gardens, or parts of gardens, where any type of water feature (particularly garden ponds) is a principal or dominant element. The primary focus is on plants, but they will sometimes ...
s were a popular theme in his work. He was deftly able to transfer traditional artistic expressions such as
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
,
tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...
and
folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
into his landscape designs. He also designed fabrics, jewellery and stage sets. He was one of the first people to call for the conservation of Brazil's
rainforests Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
. More than 50 plants bear his name. He amassed a substantial collection of plants at his home, including more than 500
philodendron ''Philodendron'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. , the Plants of the World Online accepted 621 species; other sources accept different numbers. Regardless of number of species, the genus is the second-largest member o ...
s, including some that were discovered by him or bear his name, like '' Philodendron burle-marxii''.


Early life

Roberto Burle Marx was born in
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
. He was the fourth son of Rebecca Cecília Burle, a member of the traditional
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
-based family of French ancestry, Burle Dubeux, and Wilhelm Marx, a German Jew born in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and raised in
Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
. The family moved to
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 ...
in 1913. Burle Marx's first landscaping inspirations came while studying painting in Germany, where he often visited the
Botanical Garden in Berlin The Berlin Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum () is a botanical garden in the locality of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. Constructed between 1897 and 1910 under the guidance of architect Adolf Engler, it has an area of and over 20,000 di ...
and first learned about Brazil's native flora. Upon returning to Brazil in 1930, he began collecting plants in and around his home. He went to school at the National School of Fine Arts in Rio in 1930 where he focused on visual arts under Leo Putz and
Candido Portinari Candido Portinari (December 29, 1903 – February 6, 1962) was a Brazilian painter. He is considered one of the most important Brazilian painters as well as a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting. Portinari ...
. While in school he associated with several of Brazil's future leaders in architecture and botanists who continued to be of significant influence in his personal and professional life. One of these was his professor, Brazilian Modernism's Lucio Costa, the architect and planner who lived down the street from Burle.


Career

In 1932, Burle Marx designed his first landscape for a private residence by the architects Lucio Costa and Gregori Warchavchik. This project, the Schwartz house was the beginning of a collaboration with Costa which was enriched later by
Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...
who designed the Brazilian Pavilion at the New York World's Fair in 1939. Niemeyer also designed the Pampulha complex in 1942 for which Marx designed gardens. His first garden design was completed in 1933. In 1937, Burle Marx gained international recognition and admiration for this abstract design of a roof garden for the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
building. The design highlighted elements of tension and drama. In 1949 he acquired the Sítio de Santo Antonio da Bica, a estate in the Barra de Guaratiba neighborhood on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Burle Marx began taking expeditions into the Brazilian rain forest with botanists, landscape architects, architects and other researchers to gather plant specimens. He learned to practice studying plants in situ from the botanist Henrique Lahmeyer de Mello Barreto and established his garden, nursery and tropical plant collection at Guaratiba. This property was donated to the Brazilian government in 1985 and became a national monument. Now called Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, under the direction of
IPHAN The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...
, it houses over 3,500 species of plants. The house was rebuilt in a valley on the site of a garden house belonging to the original
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
estate. In 2021, Sítio Roberto Burle Marx was inscribed on the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
because of its unique Modernist design and its importance for environmental and cultural preservation. It is 23rd Brazilian location recognized on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites. Roberto Burle Marx founded a landscape studio in 1955 and in the same year he founded a landscape company, called Burle Marx & Cia. Ltda. He opened an office in Caracas, Venezuela in 1956 and started working with architects Jose Tabacow and Haruyoshi Ono in 1968. Marx worked on commissions throughout Brazil, Argentina, in Chile and many other South American countries, France, South Africa, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Additionally his artwork can be found displayed throughout the city of Rio de Janeiro "it is an open-air museum of works displaying his unmistakable style, one wholly his own." Roberto Burle Marx's 62-year career ended when he died June 4, 1994, at age 84. He spent time in the Brazilian forests where he was able to study and explore. Burle Marx was one of the first Brazilians to speak out against
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
. This enabled him to add significantly to the
botanical Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
sciences, by discovering new rocks and plants for example. At least 50 plants bear his name. Marx was also involved in efforts to protect and conserve the rain forest from the destructive commercial activities of deforestation for bananas and other crops and clear cutting of timber.


Style

Burle Marx's artistic style was
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
and modern. Much of his work has a sense of timelessness and perfection. He explored an anti-mimetic and skeptical aesthetic developed from
modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
with a distinctly Brazilian style. His designs were also influenced by
cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
and
abstractionism Abstractionism is the theory that the mind obtains some or all of its concepts by abstracting them from concepts it already has, or from experience.Geach, Peter (1957) Mental Acts - Their Contents and Their Objects. Routledge Kegan Paul. One may, ...
.Rohter, Larry. (January 20, 2009.
A New Look at the Multitalented Man Who Made Tropical Landscaping An Art
''New York Times''. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
Another strong influence was Brazilian folk art. His
aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...
s were often nature based, for example, never mixing flower colours, utilisation of big groups of the same specimen, using native plants and making a rocky field into a relaxing garden. He was very interested in each plant's character and what effect that has on the whole garden. He sought a depth in his designs by understanding how animals interacted with plants and how they bloomed, amongst other plant characteristics. Burle Marx had a great skill in utilising the sculptural form of plants. Burle Marx was mindful of the dynamic of walking through a garden. The sensation of mobility is an important element of experiencing his landscapes. He also made clever use of enormous scale,
lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...
and
reflection Reflection or reflexion may refer to: Science and technology * Reflection (physics), a common wave phenomenon ** Specular reflection, mirror-like reflection of waves from a surface *** Mirror image, a reflection in a mirror or in water ** Diffuse r ...
particularly in his use of water. Burle Marx was able to extend the architecture of a building into the garden. He preferred to work on public spaces because, in his words, they are able to provide dignity for the masses. Marx's work "can be summarized in four general design concepts—the use of native tropical vegetation as a structural element of design, the rupture of symmetrical patterns in the conception of open spaces, the colorful treatment of pavements, and the use of free forms in water features." This approach is exemplified by the Copacabana Beach promenade, where native sea breeze resistant trees and palms appear in groupings along Avenida Atlantica. These groupings punctuate Portuguese stone mosaics which form a giant abstract painting where no section along the promenade is the same. This "painting" is viewed from the balconies of hotels, and offers an ever-changing view for those driving along the beach. The mosaics continue the entire two-and-a-half-mile distance of the beach. The water feature, in this case, is of course the ocean and beach, which is bordered by a 30-foot wide continuous scallop patterned mosaic walk. Copacabana Beach is "the most famous in Brazil."


Awards

Roberto Burle Marx has received the following prizes, diplomas of merit and honorary memberships: The landscape architecture prize at the 2nd International Exhibition of Architecture (1953), title of Knight of the Order of the Crown from Belgium (1959), Diploma d’Honneur in Paris (1959), the Santos Dumont Medal of the Brazilian Government (1963), the Fine Arts Medal of The American Institute of Architects in Washington (1965), doctor of the Royal College of Art, London (1982) and an honorary doctorate from the Queen of the Netherlands. The
Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...
awarded him the Greensfelder Award and the Kentucky Botanic Garden proclaimed October 14, 1985, in his honor (Eliovson 1991).


Works

*
Landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...
of some gardens in the public buildings of
Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...
:* Ministry of Army –
water garden Water garden or aquatic garden, is a term sometimes used for gardens, or parts of gardens, where any type of water feature (particularly garden ponds) is a principal or dominant element. The primary focus is on plants, but they will sometimes ...
and excellent use of concrete forms. :* Foreign Affairs Building :*
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
:* Itamaraty Palace – headquarters of the Ministry of External Relations * Copacabana
promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...
Pavement landscape, large scale (4 km long) mosaic completed in 1970 on the famous Rio de Janeiro beach; influenced by
Portuguese pavement Portuguese pavement, known in Portuguese as or simply (or in Brazil), is a traditional-style pavement used for many pedestrian areas in Portugal. It consists of small pieces of stone arranged in a pattern or image, like a mosaic. It can also ...
*
Inhotim The Inhotim Institute is a Brazilian contemporary art museum. It is one of the largest outdoor art centers in Latin America. It was founded by the former mining magnate Bernardo Paz in 2004 to house his personal art collection, but opened to the ...
, Brumadinho *
Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park () is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares (approx. 390 acres) between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 million ...
, São Paulo, 1954 *
Flamengo Park Flamengo Park, also known as ''Aterro do Flamengo'', Eduardo Gomes Park, and Aterro do Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes, is the largest public park and recreation area within the city of Rio de Janeiro, in eastern Brazil, and the largest urban seaside ...
– large public park in Rio de Janeiro built on landfill * La Rinconada Hippodrome, Caracas, Venezuela *
Parque del Este El Parque del Este (In English: "East Park"), renamed as officially Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Park by Hugo Chávez, Chávez since, in honor of the Venezuelan national hero, is a public recreation park located in the Sucre Municipality, Mi ...
, Caracas, Venezuela * La Lagunita Country Club, Caracas, Venezuela * Pampulha, Belo Horizonte * Cascade Garden,
Longwood Gardens Longwood Gardens is a public garden that consists of more than 1,100 acres (445 hectares; 4.45 km2) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in the Brandywine Creek Valley in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the premier ...
, Pennsylvania, USA *
Biscayne Boulevard U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. ...
, Miami, Florida, USA (completed posthumously) * Maracaibo Botanical Gardens, Maracaibo, Venezuela * Peru Square, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Demolished) * Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia * Casa Forte Square (Praça de Casa Forte),
Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
, Pernambuco * Cascata Farm, Araras * Ipanema Park,
Ipatinga Ipatinga is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality located in the interior of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. Situated in the Vale do Rio Doce (meso ...
, Minas Gerais * Burle Marx Garden in the
Burle Marx Park Burle Marx Park (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Parque Burle Marx'') is located in the Vila Andrade district, in the Brazilian city of São Paulo. It offers a contemplative proposal aimed at preserving the remnants of São Paulo's Atlantic For ...
, São Paulo


Exhibitions

* 1948-52 - Painting toward architecture,
Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art The Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art (1945) was formed in Meriden, Connecticut, as part of the Miller Company. The collection was formed by then CEO Burton Tremaine Sr. and his wife, Miller Co. art director Emily Hall Tremaine in 1945. Wo ...
, several venues, US. * 1949 - From Le Corbusier to
Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...
: Savoye House - Tremaine House 1949
, Museum of Modern Art, New York * 1991 - Roberto Burle Marx: The unnatural art of the garden, Museum of Modern Art, New York * 2016 - Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist, Jewish Museum, New York. * 2017 - ''Roberto Burle Marx: Joutras Gallery'', Chicago Botanic Garden. * 2019 - ''Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx'',
New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...
.


See also

*
List of landscape architects A landscape architect is someone who practices landscape architecture. Regulations of the profession vary by country and state. The terminology has evolved to include those once known as List of professional gardeners, landscape gardeners, landsc ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *Giulio G. Rizzo ; ''Il progetto dei grandi parchi urbani di Roberto Burle Marx'', In " Paesaggio Urbano", vol. 4-5; pp. 82-89, 1995. * * * * First English Language Edition. *


Tribute

In 2014, Roberto Burle Marx was commemorated on his 20 year legacy reference: https://issuu.com/alejapv/docs/moderndesigners


External links

* . * . * . * . Tourist guide page with many pictures. * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Roberto Burle World Heritage Sites in Brazil Landscape and garden designers 20th-century Brazilian botanists Brazilian male sculptors Brazilian landscape architects 1909 births 1994 deaths Brazilian people of German-Jewish descent Brazilian people of French descent Designers from São Paulo Brazilian conservationists 20th-century Brazilian sculptors 20th-century Brazilian painters 20th-century Brazilian male artists