Djanira: Picturing Brazil

A handsome monograph on beloved self-taught Brazilian artist Djanira da Motta e Silva, whose paintings depict religious themes and everyday life in Brazil

Largely self-taught and coming from a working-class background, Djanira da Motta e Silva (1914-79) emerged on the Brazilian art scene in the 1940s, working in paint, woodcut and engraving to depict everyday life in Brazil, often with religious overtones. Although she developed a prolific career during her lifetime, in recent decades her work has been left aside of the official narratives of Brazilian art history.

This book examines Djanira’s fundamental role in the formation of Brazilian visual culture and seeks to reposition her as a key figure in 20th-century art history. Its title speaks to the extraordinary visual and symbolic repertoire the artist created from the everyday life, landscape and popular culture of her country, championing themes often marginalized by the elites.

Reproducing 90 works by the artist, plus photographs and documents from her archive, it includes both newly commissioned essays and historical texts.