Colours and shadows

The book As Cores e as Sombras: Identificacao e Analise das Caracteristicas das Primeiras Obras de Anita Malfatti (1909-1914) reveals that the main characteristics of the early works of the important Brazilian modernist painter have been ignored since 1917. Therefore, in this monographic study, Anita Malfatti's first works were analysed and it was understood that the painter's early works already had modernist characteristics, such as the use of colours in a non-naturalistic way, the use of coloured shadows and the abandonment of conventional perspective. Reading this study reveals a courageous and fearless Anita Malfatti, who from the beginning of her studies identified with modernist painting. This interpretation modifies the idea of psychological fragility that was created by the many studies that approached the work of the precursor of Sao Paulo modernism, Anita Malfatti, based on the hasty and biased conclusions of the early modernist writings.