Raimundo de Oliveira (Feira de Santana BA 1930 - Salvador BA 1966)
Raimundo de Oliveira was a printmaker, painter and draftsman. He took up art under the influence of his mother, a painter of religious themes, who encouraged him in drawing and painting as well as in religious life. Encouraged by his drawing teacher, he held his first exhibition at the Ginásio Santanópolis, where he portrayed the school's teachers. After finishing secondary school in 1947, he moved to Salvador, where he took regular painting courses with Maria Célia Amado at the Escola de Belas Artes da Universidade da Bahia and met the artists Mario Cravo Júnior and Jenner Augusto.
His first solo exhibition took place in 1951 in the hall of the Feira de Santana City Hall, on which occasion he became close to a group of independent artists responsible for the Cadernos da Bahia. He lived in São Paulo between 1958 and 1964, later returning to Bahia. Between 1965 and 1966, he lived in Rio de Janeiro. In the year of his suicide, 1966, the Pequena Bíblia de Raimundo de Oliveira. Xilogravuras [Raimundo de Oliveira's Little Bible. Woodcuts] was released, edited by Julio Pacello, with a preface by Jorge Amado, and published by the Bonino and Petite Galerie galleries.
In 1982, the artist's second album, Via Crucis, was published by the Fundação Cultural do Estado da Bahia, and the Galeria Raimundo de Oliveira was inaugurated in Salvador.
Critical Commentary
Raimundo de Oliveira's work - drawing, gouache, oil and printmaking - unfolds in the religious universe, with saints, images and biblical scenes depicted in various ways. Critics tend to distinguish two phases in his production according to the variations in his treatment of the theme. In the 1950s and 1960s, compositions with somber colors and an expressionist character predominate - the figures marked by painful, dramatic features, defined with India ink and black outlines, as in Cabeça de Cristo [Head of Christ], 1957, Crucificado [Crucified], n.d., and Moisés [Moses], 1960 - and some readings show affinities with the painting of Georges Rouault. At another moment, the canvases turn to small narratives, built with diminutive figures (more humorous than tragic, given their distortions and disproportions), which are repeated according to the situations presented. Structured geometrically by a balance of horizontal and vertical planes, the new canvases have a particular dynamism, obtained through spaces built on circles. The energy of vibrant colors and the dynamism of the canvas are the salient features of this phase, seen in O Sonho de Jacob [Jacob's Dream], n.d. Besides symbolist influences and the naïve art of Henri Rousseau, echoes of Brazilian northeastern folk art can be seen in this phase. The religious universe is read from the perspective of popular festivals and religiosity, often mixed with the profane world - processions, bumba-meu-boi, home altars, etc. The narratives and modes of figuration, in turn, recall the art of the printmakers and potters of the Northeast. Elements taken from the Brazilian landscape, such as tropical trees and animals, are another way of combining the erudite and the popular, the universal and the national - Jesus no Horto das Oliveiras [Jesus in the Garden of Olives], 1962, and Chegada em Jerusalém [Arrival in Jerusalem], 1964.
Critiques
"And then everyone realized that the habit was not a habit, it was an old raincoat, and the staff was not a staff, it was paintbrushes. And there was a canvas, and the fellow was painting. Some wanted to stone him, taking him for a swindler from outside, but others recognized the pilgrim and addressed him, calling him familiarly Mundinho. For it was Raimundo de Oliveira, a son of the land, a dreamer since boyhood, with no knack for work except for scribbling on paper, if that can be considered work. He had left long ago, and there had been no news of him. Now he suddenly appeared, and around his big head hovered a magical atmosphere, as if he were surrounded by the light of dawn. (...)
This painter, this great painter of the Bible and of Bahia, who made a clean copy of the violence of the Old Testament and turned it as soft as velvet, who filled the harsh ancient tragedy with flowers, this young man with a shy voice and steady certainty, this Raimundo de Oliveira is a prophet with the soul of Francis of Assisi. Only Bahia could produce him, along the roads of the city where the sertão begins; only Bahia could nourish him and offer him to the galleries of the south, to glory and fame, for his Bible breathes candomblé (wasn't he a son of Mãe Senhora of the Opô Afonjá, and didn't he learn to cook with Olga do Alaketu?). A master painter, I know of no other who has grown so much in his art while remaining so faithful to the dreams of his boyhood, to his Mother's hopes and to his hidden treasure. (...)
Raimundo de Oliveira (...) did not stay in Bahia. He was a prophet and had to carry his prophecy out into the world. He had to roam the roads and linger in distant lands. He wanders here and there, but it is to Bahia that he comes to feed on earth, animals, God and love; it is to Bahia that he comes, humble and victorious, to relearn the mystery of man and his need for peace and plenty".
Jorge Amado - 1966
AMADO, Jorge. [Palavras]. In: OLIVEIRA, Raimundo de. Pequena Bíblia de Raimundo de Oliveira. Xilogravuras. Prefácio Jorge Amado; organização Julio A. Pacello. São Paulo: Lia Cesar, 1966.
"This book (of woodcuts) was born more than two years ago, when Raimundo de Oliveira asked me to help him distribute invitations to his exhibition at Galeria Astréia. We went out together on this simple mission, and it was on the way that the idea of making a little Bible was born. From then on, for many months, we worked in close collaboration. We spent a long time choosing the biblical scenes that seemed most representative to us. This choice took into account both the biblical and the artistic aspects. In addition, it had to submit to the limitations imposed by the woodcut technique".
Julio A. Pacello - 1966
PACELLO, Julio A. In: OLIVEIRA, Raimundo de. Pequena Bíblia de Raimundo de Oliveira. Xilogravuras. Prefácio Jorge Amado; organização Julio A. Pacello. São Paulo: Lia Cesar, 1966.
"Despite the naïve plastic composition of his works and his open rebellion against academic discipline (...) he was never, as he was mistakenly presented (...), a primitive, a 'naïf' (...) he was concerned with the stylistic problems raised for him by religious themes and narratives, interpreting them in scenes of extreme lyricism".
Clarival do Prado Valladares
PONTUAL, Roberto. Dicionário das artes plásticas no Brasil. Apresentação de Antônio Houaiss. Textos de Mário Barata et al. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1969.
Solo Exhibitions
1951 - Feira de Santana BA - First solo exhibition, at Prefeitura Municipal
1951 - Salvador BA - Solo, at Galeria Oxumaré
1953 - Feira de Santana BA - Solo, at Prefeitura Municipal
1953 - Salvador BA - Solo, at Galeria Oxumaré
1956 - Salvador BA - The Drama of Calvary, at Belvedere da Sé
1957 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Solo, at Plástica Galeria de Arte
1958 - Salvador BA - Solo, at Galeria Oxumaré
1959 - Santos SP - Solo, at Hall do Edifício Indaiá
1959 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Ambiente
1960 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Teatro Novos Comediantes
1960 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Teatro Oficina
1961 - Campinas SP - Solo, at Galeria Aremar
1961 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Astréia
1962 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Clubinho
1962 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Astréia
1963 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Bonino
1964 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Solo, at Galeria Bonino
1964 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria Astréia
1965 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Bonino
1966 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at MAM/RJ
Group Exhibitions
1951 - Salvador BA - 1st Bahia University Fine Arts Salon
1952 - Feira de Santana BA - 1st Feira de Santana Modern Art Exhibition, at Banco Econômico da Bahia
1952 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 1st National Salon of Modern Art, at MAM/RJ
1952 - Salvador BA - 2nd Bahia University Fine Arts Salon
1953 - Salvador BA - Poty, Carlos Bastos and Raimundo Oliveira, at Galeria Oxumaré
1953 - Salvador BA - 3rd Bahia Fine Arts Salon
1954 - Salvador BA - 4th Bahia Fine Arts Salon, at Hotel Bahia
1955 - Salvador BA - 5th Bahia Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Belvedere da Sé - honorable mention in drawing
1956 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 5th National Salon of Modern Art
1956 - Salvador BA - 6th Bahia Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Oxumaré - honorable mention in painting
1956 - Salvador BA - Modern Artists of Bahia, at Galeria Oxumaré
1956 - Salvador BA - Modern Painting Exhibition, at Palácio Rio Branco
1957 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 6th National Salon of Modern Art
1957 - São Paulo SP - Artists from Bahia, at MAM/SP
1959 - São Paulo SP - 47 Artists, at Galeria de Arte das Folhas
1960 - São Paulo SP - 9th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia - bronze medal
1961 - Porto Alegre RS - Circle of Friends of Art, at Margs
1961 - São Paulo SP - Contemporary Sacred Art, at Sede do Movimento Graal
1961 - São Paulo SP - 10th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia - acquisition prize
1962 - São Paulo SP - 11th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art - small silver medal
1963 - São Paulo SP - 12th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia
1963 - São Paulo SP - 7th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal
1964 - São Paulo SP - 13th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art
1965 - Caracas (Venezuela) - Assessment of Latin American Painting
1965 - Paris (France) - Salon Comparaisons, at Musée d'Art Moderne de La Ville de Paris
1965 - Paris (France) - Eight Brazilian Naïve Painters, at Galerie Jacques Massol
1965 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 33 Artists in Homage to the City of Rio de Janeiro - honorable mention
1965 - São Paulo SP - 8th Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, at Fundação Bienal
1966 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Contemporary Brazilian Artists, at Museo de Arte Moderno
1966 - Lausanne (Switzerland) - Artists and Discoverers of Our Time
1966 - New York (United States) - Brazilian Artists, at Amel Gallery
1966 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Contemporary Brazilian Artists, at Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires
1966 - Madrid (Spain) - Artists from Bahia, at Instituto de Cultura Hispânica
1966 - Lausanne (Switzerland) - International Salon of Galleries - Pilot
1966 - Moscow (Russia) - Brazilian Primitive Painters
1966 - São Paulo SP - 15th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia
1966 - New York (United States) - The Emergent Decade, at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Posthumous Exhibitions
1966 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 4th JB Art Summary, at MAM/RJ
1966 - Salvador BA - 1st National Biennial of Visual Arts
1966 - São Paulo SP - 15th São Paulo Salon of Modern Art, at Galeria Prestes Maia
1967 - Salvador BA - Christmas Group Exhibition, at Panorama Galeria de Arte
1969 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Via Crucis, at Gabinete de Arte de Botafogo
1976 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Galeria de Arte Portal
1979 - São Paulo SP - Raimundo de Oliveira: Paintings, at Galeria de Arte Ipanema
1982 - Salvador BA - Brazilian Art from the Odorico Tavares Collection, at Museu Carlos Costa Pinto
1984 - São Paulo SP - Gilberto Chateaubriand Collection: Portrait and Self-Portrait of Brazilian Art, at MAM/SP
1984 - São Paulo SP - Tradition and Rupture: A Synthesis of Brazilian Art and Culture, at Fundação Bienal
1986 - São Paulo SP - Solo, at Biblioteca Mário de Andrade
1988 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Naïve Painting, at Espaço Quadros e Objetos de Arte
1990 - São Paulo SP - Figuration/Abstraction: Red in Brazilian Painting, at Itaugaleria
1992 - Belém PA - Eleventh Art, at Fundação Rômulo Maiorana
1992 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Bonino
1993 - João Pessoa PB - Woodcut: From Cordel to the Gallery, at Funesc
1993 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Galeria Ipanema
1994 - Poços de Caldas MG - Unibanco Collection: Exhibition Celebrating Unibanco's 70 Years, at Casa da Cultura
1994 - São Paulo SP - Woodcut: From Cordel to the Gallery, at Metrô
1995 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Unibanco Collection: Exhibition Celebrating Unibanco's 70 Years, at MAM/RJ
1996 - Belém PA - 15th Salão Arte Pará, at Museu de Arte de Belém
1996 - São Paulo SP - Ex Libris/Home Page, at Paço das Artes
1997 - Porto Alegre RS - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at Conjunto Cultural da Caixa
1997 - São Paulo SP - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at Conjunto Cultural da Caixa
1998 - Curitiba PR - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at Conjunto Cultural da Caixa
1998 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Exhibition of the Caixa Collection, at Conjunto Cultural da Caixa
1998 - São Paulo SP - The Collectors - Guita and José Mindlin: Matrices and Prints, at Galeria de Arte do Sesi
1999 - Salvador BA - 100 Visual Artists from Bahia, at Museu de Arte Sacra
1999 - Salvador BA - 60 Years of Brazilian Art, at Espaço Cultural da Caixa Econômica Federal
2000 - São Paulo SP - Investigations. Brazilian Printmaking, at Itaú Cultural
2000 - São Paulo SP - The Angels Are Back, at Pinacoteca do Estado
2001 - Brasília DF - Investigations. Brazilian Printmaking, at Itaú Galeria
2001 - Penápolis SP - Investigations. Brazilian Printmaking, at Galeria Itaú Cultural
2001 - São Paulo SP - Aldo Franco Collection, at Pinacoteca do Estado
2002 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: From the Restlessness of the Modern to the Autonomy of Language, at CCBB
2002 - São Paulo SP - Brazilian Art in the Fadel Collection: From the Restlessness of the Modern to the Autonomy of Language, at CCBB
2002 - São Paulo SP - Holy Naivety, at Unifieo
Source: Itaú Cultural
