Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Brazil 1822

'Vallee da Serra do Mar (Chaine de montagnes pre de la mer)'

'Momie d'un chef de Coroados'

'Différentes formes de masques [coëffures (coiffures)]'

'Nègres chasseurs rentrant en ville [left]
Le retour des nègres d'un naturaliste [right]'

'Une mulâtresse allant passer les fetês de Noël, à la campagne;
Concours des écoliers, la veille de jour de St. Alexis.'

'Scène de carnaval [above]
Paveurs. Marchande d'atacaça [below]'

'Petit moulin à sucre, portatif'

'Nègres scieurs de long'

'Esclaves nègres, de différentes nations'

'Cabocle Indien civilisé'

'Vue générale de la ville de Rio de Janeiro prise de Couvent de St. Bento;
Vue de la même ville, prise de l'Église de Notre-Dame de la Gloire'

'Débarquement de la princesse Léopoldine à Rio de Janeiro'

'Cérémonie de sacre de D. Pedro I-er Empereur du Brésil,
à Rio de Janeiro, le 1-er Decembre 1822'

'Acclamation de Don Pédro I-er Empereur du Brésil,
au camp de Santa Anna, à Rio de Janeiro'

The Portuguese royal court fled Europe in 1808 for Brazil so as to avoid the advancing armies of Napoleon. In 1816 after Queen Maria I's death the Prince Regent became King João VI of Portugal, but he remained in exile, establishing an absolutist monarchy.

An independence movement gathered some momentum, despite scientific, literary, artistic and military successes generated under the King's patronage. An uprising was suppressed in 1817 but the desire for a republic continued.

The King returned to Portugal in 1821 and left his 22 year old Prince Regent son as ruler in Brazil. Dom Pedro I was to disobey the Portuguese parliament by establishing a government and appointed the renowned José Bonifácio as Prime Minister.

On September 7, 1822 an announcement was made declaring Brazil an independent nation and Dom Pedro was invested as Emperor in December of the same year. I'm doubtful whether there have been any other generally peaceful, royalty-initiated beginnings to a new nation state in history. (The empire was dissolved in 1889 in favour of a federated republic).

'Voyage Pittoresque et historique au Brésil, ou Séjour d'un artiste français au Brésil, depuis 1816 jusqu'en 1831 inclusivement, epoques de l'avènement et de l'abdication de S. M. D. Pedro 1er, fondateur de l'Empire brésilien. Dédié à l'Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France. (published 1834-39)' is online in 13 thumbnail pages at NYPL. The artist responsible for the lithographs was Jean Baptiste Debret, who spent 15 years in Brazil.

7 comments :

Heather said...

Beautiful lithographs...makes me want to go to Brazil to discover all these wonders of the 1800s.

Bibi said...

Ah... I know that story ;)

Debret is great. It's pity that they give so much emphasis to the history, with the cultural background and we just learn those things later.

You would like to see the exhibition that I saw years ago about those voyagers that came to Brazil to registry the images of the Portugal colony. Beautiful works. Let's see if I can find something on-line later.

peacay said...

The beginning of Brazil as a country is a great story Bibi.

I think we should do a swap - I'll come to Rio for a few months and you can come and stay in Sydney. A cultural exchange. Deal? '- )

Julia Pedreira said...

those pics are too "poetic" for my taste... there is some blood missing.

and i'm brazilian.

Bibi said...

The beginning of Brazil as a country is a great story Bibi.Hum... not so good, slavery, the Jesuits trying to canonize the natives, the Portuguese getting the gold and giving it to the English,our economical dependency of Portugal, and after UK, and US after! I know, it's normal, happened in most of countries, but I'm still sad about many things in our history.

Rio? Well, that's a good place for tourists, not for me. I think I can't survive for more than 1 month in a city smaller than São Paulo. Is Sydney bigger than here? I'm too cosmopolitan.

peacay said...

Bibi, you will forgive my having a romantic view of Brazil. I'm sure the history of the country has its depressing aspects, but the beginning - the declaration of independence from Portugal by a Portuguese royal member - that is very unusual in the world.

São Paulo = ~10 million
Sydney = ~4 million

Maybe it won't be cosmopolitan enough for you!

(But you would be welcome! I think you will find enough here to keep you happy.)

hugo der knabe said...

pk,sincerously greetings,your blog is a giant site where we can show lots of ancient arts.I am drawer,from spain,visit my etchings blog.

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