.png){kind=small}
English version
THE PROJECT
"A city was written in the sea."
Carlos Drummond de Andrade
The "Illustrated Copacabana" project emerged in 2004 when I moved to this famous neighborhood, affectionately called "The Little Princess of the Sea," where I found rich material for my paintings. It was Carnival month, and the streets were overflowing with various interesting "types" for the attentive eye of a visual artist. I started photographing almost every day and at various times using a 400mm lens, which allowed me to capture spontaneous moments of people from a distance. With this, I began a collection of over two thousand photographs. Initially, I knew I had very important and rich material in my hands, just a few steps from my house, but I still didn't know how to work with it.
One day I took my sketchbook out into the street to sketch some regular residents and tourists live. They were all portrayed in a few strokes, trying to capture their spontaneity. I noticed the quantity and daily diversity of these people's customs, every detail, every way they behaved, dressed, and interacted with the neighborhood and the beach. I then decided it was time to start painting them in the studio. I began a new phase with a line and painting style that was "stylized realism," fusing photographs and live sketches.
As I've always been strongly influenced by the great illustrators Norman Rockwell and J.C.L.E.L.E.K., who depicted American life in the 20th century, this was part of the inspiration for this project.
Another great source of inspiration was the work of the artist Jean Baptiste-Debret, who in the 19th century did what I try to do today with my paintings in Copacabana: portray people, their lives, and their customs in an objective and iconographic way.
But it was the art of the great cartoonist and graphic designer J. Carlos that truly inspired my project. He was undoubtedly the greatest graphic chronicler of Brazil and, above all, a keen observer of the life and customs of the people of Rio de Janeiro between the years 1910 and 1950.
My artistic project "Copacabana Ilustrada" then emerged, a tribute to this poetic and world-renowned neighborhood, made up of anonymous people who somehow become celebrities as they stroll along the winding sidewalks, showcasing their authentic and irreverent styles.
Special thanks to my wife Fernanda Japiassú, who showed me Copacabana from a different perspective, and to the photographer.
Stefano Martini believed in the project and took the first photographs of the paintings.
PAINTINGS
I miss Gilda.
Gilda was my neighbor in Copacabana and she was the model for several paintings.
She was very upbeat and always told hilarious stories about her life.
.jpg)
