WHAT? Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism

WHERE?  The Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J OBD

WHEN?   Now until 21st April 

WHY GO For a carnival of art.  It may be chilly outside but it’s warm and sunny inside the RA where a new blockbuster exhibition positively dazzles with the radiance of Brazil.

You may not recognise the names of artists on show but you will instantly fall in love with the vibrancy and want to dig deeper and discover why and how ten Brazilian artists have portrayed their home country in a myriad of diverse ways. 

Brazil has always been a country of opportunity drawing all nationalities together, with artists subsequently responding to the political and social factors of their day.

With around 130 artworks on show, from 1910-1970, they dynamically interpret the shifts in attitudes of a complex conservative country that slowly embraced the art, culture and architecture of Modernism.

There are rarely seen works on loan from private collectors, some from big name Brazilian artists like Candido Portinari, who created the War and Peace mural for the United Nations Headquarters in New York, to lesser known protégées of famous European artists inspired by Surrealists like Marc Chagall and Joan Miro.

This diverse exhibition portrays how Brazil embraced the whole cultural Modernist movement their own way.  Each artist has their own unique style, magnified by each room painted in a different dazzling colour. 

It’s all totally captivating and tempts a tango round the gift shop afterwards to snap up a little Brazilian trinket or two!

IN THE KNOW Is it Brasil or Brazil? That is the question and it seems that both are correct depending on where you are from.  The name Brazil originates from the brazilwood tree.  Spelt with a ‘z’, the English version of the Portuguese name Brasil is generally accepted. 

Yes, it’s a tad confusing, especially as the capital of Brazil is officially Brasilia!