Aleijadinho (Ouro Preto MG 1730 - idem 1814)
Aleijadinho, the name by which Antônio Francisco Lisboa became known, was a sculptor, architect and woodcarver, considered the leading artist of colonial Brazil. His work is among the most important of the Brazilian Baroque, and remains a reference today for historians, collectors and art scholars.
Aleijadinho was born in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, on a date still debated by researchers. Traditional records give 1730, while documents suggest he may have been born in 1738. He died in 1814, aged 76. He was the son of the Portuguese architect Manoel Francisco Lisboa and an enslaved African woman, a background that makes his artistic career all the more significant within colonial society.
He was trained mainly through practice, alongside his father and master craftsmen working in Vila Rica, today Ouro Preto. There are signs of the influence of artists such as Francisco Xavier de Brito and José Coelho Noronha, as well as contact with European engravings of religious subjects. These elements contributed to the development of a style of his own, marked by expressiveness and sculptural detail.
Aleijadinho's name first appears in documents in 1766, when he received a commission from the Church of São Francisco de Assis in Ouro Preto. After his father's death in 1767, he took on a more prominent professional role. In 1772, he joined the Brotherhood of São José and, a few years later, had a son in Rio de Janeiro, Manoel Francisco Lisboa, who also became an artist.
From 1777 onwards, his life and work were profoundly affected by a serious illness, possibly nervous leprosy, which caused progressive physical deformities. Even so, he remained very active as an artist. During this period, his works took on greater drama and expressive power, defining characteristics of the Minas Gerais Baroque.
During the 1780s, he established himself as the most sought-after artist in Minas Gerais, taking part in major religious projects. From 1790, he reached the height of his career, with great recognition and a large volume of commissions.
Aleijadinho's output is extensive and documented, with works spread across churches and historic towns. His workshop had several assistants, which made large-scale projects possible, such as the sculptural ensembles of Congonhas.
The high point of his career came between 1796 and 1805, at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, where he created one of the most important ensembles in Brazilian art. During this period, he produced 66 wooden sculptures depicting the Stations of the Passion of Christ and carved the famous Twelve Prophets in soapstone. These works established Aleijadinho as the greatest name of the Brazilian Baroque and the author of one of the most important open-air sculptural ensembles in the world.
The Historical Context in Which Aleijadinho Lived
Aleijadinho lived in a period of intense political, social and economic change in 18th-century colonial Brazil. His career is directly linked to the context of gold mining in Minas Gerais, social tensions and the strict control exercised by the Portuguese Crown.
In his early years, Aleijadinho heard accounts of the violence carried out by Governor Pedro de Almeida, responsible for repressive actions in Vila Rica. These episodes reveal a setting marked by inequality and repression, especially against enslaved populations.
As a young man, Aleijadinho experienced political instability, with rivalries between paulistas and other groups involved in gold mining. He also felt the effects of the administration of Luiz da Cunha Menezes, whose rule heightened local tensions. The consequences of the conflicts between paulistas and emboabas were still present and shaped the social context in which the artist developed.
During his youth, Aleijadinho witnessed growing discontent with the collection of the “quintos” (fifths), a tax that sent a significant share of the gold to the Portuguese Crown. As the deposits were gradually exhausted, this levy became even heavier for the population. In this context, the interests of the metropolis led to the transfer of the colonial administrative center to Rio de Janeiro, which redefined the economic axis of the colony.
Throughout his life, Aleijadinho also witnessed the strong presence of the clergy in Minas Gerais. Religious orders obtained permission to mine gold and finance the construction of churches and convents, often built with enslaved labor. This setting favored the development of sacred art, a field in which Aleijadinho excelled decisively.
Despite the conflicts, crimes and disputes between miners, clergy and authorities, the region prospered economically. What was then called Vila Rica de Nossa Senhora do Pilar de Albuquerque, today Ouro Preto, became a symbol of gold wealth and the main stage of Aleijadinho's work, where his oeuvre became one of the greatest legacies of the Brazilian Baroque.
Aleijadinho Was an Invention of the Vargas Government
Aleijadinho remains one of the most emblematic figures in Brazilian art, but his life is also the subject of historiographical debate. Among contemporary interpretations, the analysis of the researcher Dalton Sala stands out, questioning how the artist's image was consolidated as a national myth.
According to Dalton Sala, the figure of Aleijadinho was largely constructed and reinforced during the government of Getúlio Vargas, especially in the context of the Estado Novo. In this period, the artist came to be interpreted as a symbol of Brazilian identity, representing racial mixing, perseverance and creativity in the face of adversity.
From this perspective, the attribution of works to Aleijadinho is not always based on conclusive documentation. Sala argues that not all works associated with the artist have direct written proof, which may have contributed to an expanded narrative about his production. In this context, the work of SPHAN, created in 1937, was fundamental to the promotion and dissemination of figures considered representative of national culture.
In Sala's interpretation, Aleijadinho was raised to the status of a cultural symbol, while Tiradentes took on the role of a political symbol. Both were incorporated into the national imagination as expressions of autonomy, albeit in different spheres. The researcher points out, however, that the construction of the Aleijadinho myth predates the Vargas period, having later been appropriated and institutionalized.
One of the first biographical records of Aleijadinho was published in 1858 by Rodrigo José Ferreira Bretas, in the Correio Oficial de Minas. Bretas claimed to have found a manuscript dated 1790 with information about Antônio Francisco Lisboa. However, this document, known as the Book of Records of Notable Events of the City of Mariana, was never located, which raises questions about its authenticity and about the documentary basis of the artist's biography.
The debate over the authorship of works attributed to Aleijadinho also involves the positions of experts. As Dalton Sala points out, the art historian Germain Bazin is said to have revealed, in 1989, that he had been pressured by Rodrigo Melo Franco de Andrade and the architect Lúcio Costa to recognize certain works as authentic, even in the absence of definitive proof.
This debate shows that Aleijadinho, besides his undeniable artistic importance, also occupies a central place in discussions about memory, heritage and the construction of Brazilian cultural identity. For researchers and scholars, understanding these multiple layers is essential for a critical, in-depth analysis of the artist's legacy.
Acrostic Proves the Existence of the Saint-Sorcerer, Listed as Heritage
Aleijadinho is widely recognized for his decisive contribution to the Minas Gerais Baroque, but his work has also been the subject of symbolic interpretations and readings that go beyond the aesthetic dimension. In particular, the Prophets at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos have prompted analyses that associate them with possible hidden meanings and allegorical constructions.
Over time, hypotheses have emerged suggesting that Aleijadinho incorporated complex symbolic layers into his sacred iconography, reinterpreting models of the European Baroque and Rococo in his own way. These readings, however, are not a consensus among art historians and should be understood as part of the interpretive field surrounding his work.
Historical records indicate that, in the early 20th century, Father Júlio Engrácia, then in charge of the sanctuary in Congonhas, carried out interventions that reduced the visibility of elements associated with the sculptures attributed to Aleijadinho. This episode is often cited in studies discussing the preservation, authorship and critical reception of the artist over time.
One of the most widespread, though controversial, interpretations is the hypothesis of an acrostic formed by the initials of the twelve prophets carved in soapstone. According to this reading, the Portuguese names Abdias, Baruc, Ezequiel, Jonas, Jeremias, Amós, Daniel, Joel, Naum, Habacuc, Oséias and Isaías would symbolically spell the name “Aleijadinho”. To support this construction, it is argued that the use of the letter “J” with the phonetic value of “I” and the inclusion of Isaías may have been deliberate choices by the artist.
From a historiographical point of view, this hypothesis has no documentary proof and is treated with caution by specialists. Even so, it contributes to the perception of Aleijadinho's work as fertile ground for interpretations linking art, religion and symbolism.
The ensemble of the twelve prophets of Congonhas, comprising four major prophets, seven minor prophets and the figure of Baruch, remains one of the most significant achievements of Brazilian colonial art. Regardless of symbolic readings, these sculptures establish Aleijadinho as a central reference in the history of art in Brazil, showing technical mastery, expressiveness and strong visual impact.
Aleijadinho's work continues to attract the interest of researchers, collectors and scholars of Brazilian art. His production, marked by expressive intensity and rooted in the context of colonial religiosity, remains open to new interpretations, reaffirming its relevance in contemporary artistic and cultural debate.
A Cry for Freedom: Independence or Death!
Aleijadinho is often associated with the intellectual and political context of late 18th-century Minas Gerais, a period marked by tensions that would culminate in the Inconfidência Mineira. Although there is no direct proof of his involvement in the movement, his artistic production is sometimes interpreted in light of the ideals of freedom and criticism of the colonial order.
In this context, some authors draw parallels between Aleijadinho and Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, a central figure of the Inconfidência and author of the Cartas Chilenas, written under the pseudonym Critilo. This comparison, however, should be understood as interpretive, since there is no documentary evidence confirming direct links between the sculptor and the conspirators.
Certain readings suggest that symbolic elements in Aleijadinho's works, especially in the ensemble at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, may reflect knowledge of European symbolic traditions, including possible references to Masonic iconography. These interpretations are based on analysis of the sculptures' gestures, postures and garments, but remain hypothetical and are debated among art historians.
The sanctuary's forecourt, where the twelve prophets carved in soapstone stand, is often described as a space of strong expressive power. In it, Aleijadinho combines elements of the Baroque tradition with a language of his own, marked by dramatic intensity and the ability to convey universal human experiences such as suffering, faith and redemption.
Some symbolic interpretations attribute numerological meanings to the ensemble of the twelve prophets, associating it with concepts of harmony and wholeness. These readings, although not documented, reinforce the continuing interest in Aleijadinho's work as a field of investigation that goes beyond traditional formal and iconographic analysis.
More than any possible political or esoteric associations, Aleijadinho's work stands out for its expressive power and historical relevance in the context of Brazilian colonial art. His legacy remains fundamental to understanding the Baroque in Brazil and continues to engage researchers, collectors and scholars interested in the many dimensions of his work.
Aleijadinho: If He Was an Invention, So What?
Aleijadinho remains at the center of historiographical debates that question not only his biography but also the authorship of the works attributed to him. The researcher Dalton Sala raises doubts about the documentation supporting the attribution of certain sculptures to Antônio Francisco Lisboa, contributing to a growing critical field in the history of Brazilian art.
However, more than the controversy over authorship, the discussion around Aleijadinho opens the way to a broader reflection on the nature of art and its relationship with historical truth. Different schools of thought offer different perspectives. Positivist approaches prioritize documentary proof, while contemporary interpretations, especially in art theory, emphasize the role of reading and reception in the construction of meaning.
In this context, the work attributed to Aleijadinho, especially the ensemble at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, can be understood beyond the question of authorship. The sculptures of Congonhas retain their aesthetic, symbolic and historical relevance regardless of absolute confirmation of authorship, speaking to different eras and audiences.
Aleijadinho's career shows that art is not limited to factual records. His work, rooted in the Minas Gerais Baroque, brings together pain, faith, tension and expressiveness, forming a legacy that transcends time. Just as classical works of the Western tradition continue to be reinterpreted, the sculptures attributed to the artist remain open to new critical readings.
Another relevant aspect of this debate is the very notion of authorship. In the colonial period, artistic production often involved workshops and collective processes, in which the individual author was not as central as he would become in modern times. The value placed on the artist's name is linked to later cultural and economic changes, especially the consolidation of an art-market logic.
Discussing Aleijadinho therefore means considering both the limits of historical documentation and the autonomy of artistic creation. His work continues to occupy a central place in Brazilian art, not only because of its possible authorship, but because of the aesthetic and symbolic power it expresses.
More than a matter of proof, Aleijadinho remains a fundamental reference for understanding the Baroque in Brazil. His legacy withstands controversy and stands as an object of study, contemplation and reflection, remaining alive in contemporary cultural and academic debate.
Artistic Production
Aleijadinho reached the height of his artistic production in his mature years when, at over sixty, he created some of his most emblematic works in Congonhas. Notable among them are the soapstone sculptures of the Twelve Prophets, carved between 1800 and 1805 in the church forecourt, and the 66 cedarwood figures that make up the Stations of the Passion of Christ, begun in 1796 at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos.
The design of the sanctuary shows Aleijadinho's innovative character, combining architecture, sculpture and landscape in an integrated ensemble. In the forecourt, the figures of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah, Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Amos and Nahum were carved in soapstone and strategically arranged. Their gestures and postures give the sculptures dynamism, creating a sense of movement and dialogue, a defining feature of the Minas Gerais Baroque and central to the viewer's experience.
Along the slope leading up to the sanctuary, Aleijadinho organized six chapels, known as the Stations of the Passion of Christ. In each of them, life-size sculptural groups narrate episodes of the Passion, establishing a narrative sequence that combines sacred art, devotion and the participation of the faithful. This route integrates urban space and religious practice, reinforcing the symbolic and sensory dimension of the ensemble.
All of Aleijadinho's work was concentrated in Minas Gerais, where he worked intensely and received numerous commissions throughout his life. Despite recognition in his own time, his work went through a period of relative neglect after his death. It was rediscovered in 1858, with the publication of the biography written by Rodrigo José Ferreira Bretas. Critical recognition was later consolidated in the 20th century, especially after the 1922 Modern Art Week, when the Baroque came to be valued as a fundamental expression of Brazilian culture.
In his final years, Aleijadinho's illness worsened, leading to progressive isolation. Assisted by a few collaborators, he lost his sight and stopped working. He died in 1814 in Ouro Preto, then Vila Rica, bringing to a close a unique career in the history of art. His legacy, however, remains one of the most important of the Brazilian Baroque, and a continuing object of study, preservation and admiration.
Aleijadinho and Baroque Art
Aleijadinho is recognized as one of the leading exponents of Baroque art in Brazil and a central figure for understanding artistic production in the colonial period. The Baroque, which developed in Western Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries, is characterized by monumentality, ornamental richness and dramatic intensity. In the 18th century, the style evolved into Rococo, a lighter and more decorative language that also influenced Aleijadinho's work.
Aleijadinho's production engages with European artistic traditions adapted to the colonial context. First, the Baroque emerged as a reaction to Renaissance aesthetics, marked by balance, symmetry and formal rationality. In contrast, Baroque artists explored dynamism, movement and expressiveness, using curved lines and more complex compositions to heighten the visual and emotional impact of their works.
Another relevant factor was the use of the Baroque as an instrument for asserting power. In Europe, absolute monarchies turned to artistic monumentality to express authority and grandeur, as exemplified by buildings such as the Palace of Versailles and the Zwinger. This model influenced, albeit indirectly, artistic production in the colonies, where architecture and sculpture also took on symbolic functions of prestige and representation.
The Counter-Reformation is the third fundamental element for understanding the Baroque. The movement promoted an art devoted to exalting the Catholic faith, marked by strong emotional and didactic appeal. Churches and sculptures began to convey religious narratives in an engaging way, a characteristic present in Aleijadinho's works, especially his sacred sculptural ensembles.
Working in 18th-century Minas Gerais, Aleijadinho incorporated these influences into the local context, shaped by the mining economy and the activity of religious brotherhoods. The Brazilian Baroque developed in this environment as one of the country's first artistic expressions of identity. In this setting, Aleijadinho developed a language of his own, combining refined technique, dramatic expressiveness and deep religiosity.
Aleijadinho's work therefore synthesizes the adaptation of the European Baroque to the cultural and social conditions of colonial Brazil. His legacy remains fundamental for researchers, collectors and scholars of Brazilian art, establishing him as a central reference in the history of art in the country.
Criticism
"As an architect and ornamentalist, Aleijadinho brought the supreme accolade to the Portuguese Baroque. As a sculptor, if he created grand forms for which Portuguese civilization offered no equivalent, it was not out of a spirit of revolution but, on the contrary, through the awakening of the creative forces that would give Luso-Brazilian civilization the great artist-poet that, after Nuno Gonçalves, it had been unable to produce".
Germain Bazin
BAZIN, Germain. O Aleijadinho e a escultura barroca no Brasil. 2nd rev. enl. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1963. p. 111.
"In him Brazil produced its greatest artistic genius, I believe. A great human manifestation. His historical role is vast and curious. Amid that swarm of visual and musical talents of the time, far superior to all of them in genius, he crowned a life of three colonial centuries. Of them all, he was the only one who can be called national, through the originality of his solutions. He was already a product of the land, and of man living in it, and he was unaware of other, better lives overseas: one acclimatized, in the psychological sense of the term. But, a genius already national, he was the greatest false rumor of nationhood, while at the same time characterizing the whole falsification of our civilized entity, made not of internal, natural development, which moves from the center to the periphery and becomes eccentric through expansion, but of accommodating and irregular imports, artificial, coming from abroad. In fact, Antônio Francisco Lisboa prophesied for the nation a visual genius that the later Almeida Júniors, so rare!, are insufficient to confirm.
On the other hand, as a greater genius, he crowns the period in which the Brazilian entity acts under the influence of Portugal. He is the Brazilian solution of the Colony. He is the mestizo and is, logically, independence".
Mário de Andrade
[Text originally written in 1928 and published in the book O Aleijadinho e Álvares de Azevedo. Rio de Janeiro: R. A. Editora, 1935.].
ANDRADE, MÁRIO DE. Aspectos das artes plásticas no Brasil. 3rd ed. Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia, 1984. p. 41 (Obras completas de Mário de Andrade, 12).
"Antônio Francisco Lisboa was born on August 29, 1730, on the outskirts of this city, in the area called O Bom Sucesso, belonging to the parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Antônio Dias. The natural son of Manuel Francisco da Costa Lisboa, a distinguished Portuguese architect, his mother was an African or Creole woman named Isabel, enslaved by the same Lisboa, who freed him when he had him baptized.
Antônio Francisco Lisboa was dark-skinned, with a strong voice, impetuous speech and an irritable temper; he was short, with a full and ill-proportioned body, a round face and head, a large forehead, black curly hair, a thick, bushy beard, a broad forehead, a regular and somewhat pointed nose, thick lips, and short ears and neck. He could read and write and there is no record of his having attended any classes beyond elementary schooling, although some think it likely that he attended Latin classes.
His knowledge of drawing, architecture and sculpture was acquired in his father's practical school and perhaps in that of the draftsman João Gomes Batista, who had been taught at the Court in Rio de Janeiro by the renowned artist Vieira and was employed as a die engraver at the Gold Foundry of this capital. After many years of work, both in this city and elsewhere, under the eye and to the designs of his father, who until then was regarded as the foremost architect in the province, Antônio Francisco Lisboa began his career as a master of architecture and sculpture, and in this capacity he surpassed all the artists of this kind in his time.
Until the age of 47, when he had a natural son to whom he gave his father's name, he spent his life practicing his art, always taking care to keep a good table, and enjoying perfect health; so much so that he was often seen taking part in popular dances. From 1777 onwards, ailments perhaps largely stemming from venereal excesses began to afflict him severely. Some claim that he had suffered an epidemic disease which, under the name of zamparina, had recently raged in this province, and whose after-effects, when the patient did not succumb, were almost invariably deformities and paralysis; others that in him the Gallic humor had become complicated with scurvy. What is certain is that, either because he neglected to treat the disease at its onset, or because of its invincible force, Antônio Francisco lost all his toes, so that he could only walk on his knees; his fingers atrophied, curled and even fell off, leaving him only his thumbs and index fingers, and even these almost without movement. The excruciating pain he constantly suffered in his fingers and the acrimony of his choleric temper sometimes drove him to the extreme of cutting them off himself, using the chisel he worked with".
Rodrigo José Ferreira Bretas
[Text originally written in 1858 and published in the Correio Oficial de Minas, issues 169 and 170, under the title Traços biográficos relativos ao finado Antônio Francisco Lisboa, distinto escultor mineiro, mais conhecido pelo apelido de Aleijadinho.].
BARBOSA, Waldemar de Almeida. O Aleijadinho de Vila Rica. São Paulo: Edusp; Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia, 1988. 94 p. (Reconquista do Brasil. 3. Série especial, 1).
"The fundamental contradiction between the style of the period - elegant and mannered - and the powerful impulse of his passionate and often mystical temperament, a contradiction masterfully overcome, but latent, and which therefore overflowed from time to time - is the indelible mark of his work, which gives it its singular tone and makes this Brazilian from Minas Gerais the highest individual expression of Portuguese art of his time. It should also be noted that this Minas Gerais form of Portuguese colonial art in Brazil sometimes shows greater affinity with the Baroque-Rococo between the Danube and the Alps than with the metropolitan art that gave rise to it.
Aleijadinho's religiosity grew with his intimate familiarity with hagiography and the Bible; and from the isolation he imposed on himself as a result of his illness came a deep communion between his art and faith. The countless sentences and verses that form part of the pulpits and altarpieces he created are undoubtedly due to his own initiative and choice, since they do not occur in the work of any other carver".
Lucio Costa
COSTA, Lúcio. Antônio Francisco Lisboa, o "Aleijadinho". In: O UNIVERSO mágico do barroco brasileiro. São Paulo: Sesi, 1998. p. 169.
"Although he received his basic training in ornamental relief sculpture under the Portuguese João Gomes Batista, himself trained in Lisbon under the French artist Antoine Mengin, Aleijadinho (1735-1814) also left important works in monumental statuary and sacred imagery, which account for much of his reputation as the leading Brazilian artist of the colonial period. On two of his church portals, those of São João Batista in Barão de Cocais and São Miguel e Almas in Ouro Preto, there are niches with soapstone statues of patron saints. Executed some thirty years before the ensemble of the Twelve Prophets at the Sanctuary of Congonhas, from 1800-1805, these statues offer a good basis for comparing Aleijadinho's stylistic evolution, from the naturalism and restrained, somewhat awkward movement of the first phase of his career to the stylization and liberation of forms in space in the final phase.
Already elderly and practically crippled by the disease that earned him his nickname, the artist had numerous assistants on this monumental work in Congonhas, mentioned in his annual receipts with the title of 'officials', following the medieval tradition still maintained in the social organization of labor in the colonial era. This collaboration resulted in deformations of various kinds, noticeable on closer analysis, but which disappear when the viewer stands at the ideal vantage point for seeing the ensemble, that is, frontally, about 5 meters from the entrance gate. This reveals something of the system of division of labor in Aleijadinho's 'workshop', where he reserved for himself the most important and most clearly visible parts of the statues, as well as his knowledge of one of the fundamental aspects of Baroque aesthetics: theatrical intent".
Myriam Andrade Ribeiro de Oliveira
OLIVEIRA, Myriam Andrade Ribeiro de. Escultura no Brasil colonial. In: O UNIVERSO mágico do barroco brasileiro. São Paulo: Sesi, 1998. p. 131.
Collections
Banco Itaú S.A. Collection - São Paulo SP
Chapel of the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi - São João del Rei MG
Church of the Assumption of Our Lady - Mariana MG
Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi - São João del Rei MG
Church of the Third Order of Carmo - Ouro Preto MG
Church of Nossa Senhora das Mercês e Perdões - Ouro Preto MG
Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo - Ouro Preto MG
Church of Nossa Senhora do Pilar - Ouro Preto MG
Church of São Francisco de Assis - Ouro Preto MG
Church of Carmo - Sabará MG
Church of the Rosary - Santa Rita Durão MG
Mother Church of Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso - Caeté MG
Mother Church of Santo Antônio - Tiradentes MG
Mother Church of São João Batista - Barão de Cocais MG
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos - Congonhas do Campo MG
Posthumous Exhibitions
1961 - São Paulo SP - Baroque in Brazil, at MAB/Faap
1978 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo exhibition, at MAM/RJ
1979 - Belo Horizonte MG - 6th Global Winter Salon, at the Fundação Clóvis Salgado
1984 - São Paulo SP - Tradition and Rupture: Synthesis of Brazilian Art and Culture, at Fundação Bienal
1988 - São Paulo SP - The Afro-Brazilian Hand, at MAM/SP
1997 - Brasília DF - Baroque Heritage, at the Palácio Itamaraty
1997 - São Paulo SP - Baroque Heritage, at MAB/Faap
1998 - São Paulo SP - 24th São Paulo International Biennial, at Fundação Bienal
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Magical Universe of the Baroque, at Galeria de Arte do Sesi
1999 - Paris (France) - Brésil Baroque: entre ciel et terre, at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris
2000 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Antônio Francisco Lisboa, o Aleijadinho: What We See and What We Know, at MNBA
2000 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazil + 500 Rediscovery Exhibition. Baroque Art, at MNBA
2000 - São Paulo SP - Brazil + 500 Rediscovery Exhibition, at Fundação Bienal
2000 - São Paulo SP - Renato Whitaker Collection, at Restaurante Antiquários
2001 - Itu SP - Aleijadinho: What We See and What We Know
2001 - New York (United States) - Brazil: Body and Soul, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
2001 - São Paulo SP - Museu de Arte Brasileira: 40 Years, at MAB/Faap
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: From Modernist Restlessness to the Autonomy of Language, at CCBB
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Baroque at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, at MNBA
2002 - Salvador BA - O Aleijadinho, at the Museu de Arte Sacra
2002 - São Paulo SP - Aleijadinho and Mestre Piranga: Images from the Renato Whitaker Collection, at the Pinacoteca do Estado
2002 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: From Modernist Restlessness to the Autonomy of Language, at CCBB
2003 - Brasília DF - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: From Modernist Restlessness to the Autonomy of Language, at CCBB
2003 - São Paulo SP - Tomie Ohtake in the Spiritual Fabric of Brazilian Art, at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake
2004 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Tomie Ohtake in the Spiritual Fabric of Brazilian Art, at MNBA
