Cándido Portnari

Cándido Portnari (1903-1962), Brazilian painter of Italian descent. He was influential in developing a distinctively Brazilian style.

Portinari studied at the School of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro. In 1928 a scholarship allowed him to travel to Europe, where among other things he discovered fresco painting. On his return to Brazil he began to study and paint the everyday life of Brazil. His style blends European abstraction and the landscapes and people of Brazil. The regional themes that are the subject matter of much of his work are depicted through harmonious designs and in resonant colours.

Portinari was justly renowned in his lifetime and achieved wide recognition. His commissions include murals in the United Nations Building in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C., and the Ministry of Education and Culture in Rio de Janeiro.