Paris in the 1920s was a crucible in the heat of which Cubism, Futurism, and Expressionism were forged by artists like André Lhote, Fernand Léger, and Albert Gleizes. There was a woman in another country and another continent who wanted to learn about these new styles.
You already know Evie Hone and Maine Jellet were drawn from Ireland to Paris but this woman is Tarsila do Amaral and she came from São Paulo, Brazil. She absorbed these new movements eagerly.
The central depiction of virgin and child reminds me of Evie Hone’s work but already the surrounding flowers hint at a wish to incorporate a Brazilian element. It was not all work for Tarsila – I love this photograph.
Reading from left to right: Oswald de Andrade, Tarsila, Yvette Farkou, Fernand Léger, Constantin Brancusi and Maximilian Gauthier. It was taken on 14th July 1926 at the Foire du Trône, the setting for the Olympics this year. Oswald is a Brazilian poet who preached that Brazilian culture is a product of importing European culture and wanted artists to create uniquely Brazilian works. Not only did she heed his call, she married him in 1926. Her style changed somewhat.
Tarsila died in 1973 aged 86. Latin American Art of the 20th century rates her one of the leading Latin American modernist artists; she is regarded as the painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style. There are about 250 of her paintings in existence. The exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg has about 150 of them and is a rare opportunity to see them without the bother of going to Brazil.