Brazil Bicentennial

As Brazil celebrates 200 years of independence, we survey the past two centuries of Brazilian art, the museums and artists that have shaped its legacy and the political forces influencing its future.

Brazilian arts sector condemns federal culture management amid fears of military dictatorship revival

As the October presidential election looms, the Bolsonaro administration is being scrutinised for its poor support of the cultural sector, while opponent Lula promises reform

Domestic and global forces have made Brazilian galleries and artists rising powers in the art market

After decades in a semi-insular domestic art market, Brazil's artists and dealers are at the forefront of things

Brazilian Modernism has been defined by—and, sometimes, against—the country's national identity

As Brazil celebrates its bicentennial this week, we survey the movements that have defined the country's art scene over the past 200 years

The ‘cosmic accident’ of how Candido Portinari’s doves landed on a Parisian wall

The author, the daughter of Portinari’s one-time assistant, on researching a little-known mural the Brazilian artist made in Paris in the 1950s

Radia Hennessey

Museums & Heritage

After a devastating fire in 2018, the National Museum of Brazil unveils the first stage of its restoration project

As the first stage of the museum’s restoration project is unveiled, coinciding with the Brazilian bicentennial of independence, its director calls for more government investment

Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo museums offer new approaches to showcasing Indigenous culture in Brazil

A long-closed historic institution and a new museum have contracted committees of Indigenous advisors who will contextualise the ancient and present cultures of their tribes

Historic museum celebrating Brazilian independence reopens for country's bicentennial

The Ipiranga Museum in São Paulo, built at the site where independence from Portugal was declared in 1822, has been closed for nearly a decade

Exhibitions

The must-see exhibitions celebrating Brazilian art on the country's bicentennial

Shows on view in museums and galleries across New York, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and London, from the Brazilian art biennial at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo to Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca at the New Museum

Podcast

Brazil turns 200—and its National Museum rises from the ashes

Plus, the £50m Joshua Reynolds painting and Michael Heizer’s City

Hosted by Ben Luke and Benjamin Sutton. With guest speaker Martin Bailey. Produced by David. Clack, Aimee Dawson and Henrietta Bentall
Sponsored byChristie's