Benedito José de Andrade (1906 - 1979)
Benedito José de Andrade was a painter and musician. He spent his childhood in Cabreúva, in the interior of São Paulo state, where he became involved with Afro-Brazilian traditions, which influenced his subject matter, centered on the depiction of the Black population. He moved to São Paulo in the 1930s, where he began his artistic career, developing a distinctive technique for portraying Black figures with sensitivity and depth.
He worked mainly as a painter in the 1930s and 1940s, receiving prizes and recognition at local exhibitions. His work, which highlighted the dignity and resilience of Black people, stood out for avoiding the stereotypes of the time. Besides painting, he also devoted himself to music, with a particular interest in the guitar, and combined various forms of artistic expression throughout his career.
Education
ca.1920 - São Paulo SP - Attends the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios, as a pupil of Viggiani, Panelli and Enrico Vio
Critiques
"In 1940 he became interested in painting birds, a genre in which he specialized and made his name, being recognized as the only painter of the time in that genre. (...) A self-assured artist, Andrade preferred large canvases. The period demanded classical painting, and that is what the painter learned. His work underwent no stylistic transformation, only a thematic change. His paintings are colorful and the technique he adopted is impasto. All impasto painters clearly show a great sensitivity to color. Andrade never liked to paint from imagination. He believed imagination is the primary driving factor of the abstractionist".
Marina Garrido Monteiro e outros
SALÃO PAULISTA DE BELAS ARTES, 44., São Paulo, 1980. Catálogo. Apresentação de Lúcia Ferraz de Arruda Camargo. São Paulo: Galeria Prestes Maia, 1980.
Group Exhibitions
1945 - São Paulo SP - 11th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Prestes Maia
1948 - São Paulo SP - 14th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Prestes Maia - bronze medal
1949 - São Paulo SP - 15th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Prestes Maia - small silver medal
1951 - São Paulo SP - 16th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Prestes Maia - São Paulo City Prize
1953 - São Paulo SP - 18th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Prestes Maia
1963 - São Paulo SP - 28th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon
1979 - Poá SP - 1st Poá Visual Arts Salon - large gold medal
Posthumous Exhibitions
1980 - São Paulo SP - 44th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon - tribute
Source: Itaú Cultural
