Theodoro de Bona (Morretes PR 1904 - Curitiba PR 1990)
Painter, writer and teacher.
He first came into contact with art around 1912 at the Colégio Bom Jesus in Curitiba, where his drawing teacher encouraged him to take painting lessons. Between 1919 and 1927, he devoted himself to his training, studying with Gina Bianchi, Ercília Cecchi and Alfredo Andersen (1860 - 1935) and associating with Estanislau Traple (1898 - 1958) and Waldemar Freyesleben (1899 - 1970). In 1925, he took part in a group painting exhibition for the first time, organized by the Associação Comercial do Paraná. In 1927, he held his first solo exhibition, to help pay for the trip to Italy he would make that same year. He won a scholarship from the State of Paraná and went to Italy to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. He stayed in that country for almost a decade and became actively involved in the Italian art scene: in 1927, he joined the Ca' Pesaro group; in 1930, he took part in the Venice Biennale for the first time; in 1935, he painted the altarpiece of Saint Thérèse in the church of Maslianico, in Lombardy. Back in Brazil in 1936, he produced several works, notably the panel Fundação da Cidade de Curitiba [Founding of the City of Curitiba], now in the Salão Nobre of the Colégio Estadual do Paraná, and the panel Instalação da Província do Paraná [Establishment of the Province of Paraná], at the Palácio Iguaçu. In 1944, he held a solo exhibition at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a second at the same museum in 1983. In 1960, he started his drawing and painting course at the Escola de Música e Belas Artes do Paraná, where he also served as director. He was named an Honorary Citizen of Curitiba by the City Council in 1981, and received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, in the rank of Cavaliere Ufficiale, in 1983.
Critiques
"(...) I am trying to bring together works that show the breadth of De Bona's output, because he is not only a great landscape painter but also works wonders in other genres. (...) It is important because he is the last of the great masters of Paraná painting who were Andersen's students. His work has repercussions even abroad, but this remains restricted to critics and collectors, and he does not have the popularity he deserves".
Araken Távora
LOUZADA, Júlio. Artes plásticas: seu mercado, seus leilões. São Paulo: J. Louzada, 1984-.
Solo Exhibitions
1926 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1927 - Curitiba PR - Solo, in the lobby of Cinema Mignon
1937 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Clube Curitibano
1939 - São Paulo SP - Solo, presented by Menotti del Picchia, at Palácio das Arcadas
1943 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Clube Curitibano
1944 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at MNBA
1946 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at Palace Hotel
1946 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Sala de Exposições da Prefeitura Municipal
1950 - Curitiba PR - Solo, in the lobby of Edifício João Alfredo, promoted by the Paraná Secretariat of Education and Culture
1956 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1965 - Curitiba PR - Retrospective, at Sala de Exposições da Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1968 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1974 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Galeria Cocaco
1975 - Curitiba PR - Retrospective, at Banco de Desenvolvimento Econômico do Paraná, BADEP, organized by Domício Pedroso
1981 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Museu Alfredo Andersen
1983 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Clube Curitibano
1983 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - Solo, at MNBA
1984 - Curitiba PR - Solo, at Galeria Ida e Anita
1984 - Curitiba PR - Retrospective, at Museu Guido Viaro
Group Exhibitions
1925 - Curitiba PR - First group show, with Andersen's students, at Associação Comercial do Paraná
1928 - Venice (Italy) - Salão Oficial dos Artistas Venezianos [Official Salon of Venetian Artists]
1930 - Venice (Italy) - 17th Venice Biennale
1930 - Venice (Italy) - Salon of Latin American Artists
1935 - Florence (Italy) - Mostra Interregionale di Firenze [Florence Inter-Regional Exhibition]
1935 - Venice (Italy) - Salão Oficial dos Artistas Venezianos [Official Salon of Venetian Artists]
1935 - Venice (Italy) - Exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the Venice Biennale
1939 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - National Salon of Fine Arts - silver medal
1940 - Porto Alegre RS - Porto Alegre Bicentennial Salon - award winner
1942 - São Paulo SP - 8th São Paulo Fine Arts Salon, at Galeria Prestes Maia
1944 - Curitiba PR - Paraná Fine Arts Salon - silver medal
1944 - Curitiba PR - 1st Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Escola de Professores
1944 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 50th National Salon of Fine Arts, at MNBA
1949 - Curitiba PR - 6th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Instituto de Educação do Paraná Professor Erasmo Pilotto
1950 - Curitiba PR - 3rd Spring Salon of Clube Concórdia - gold medal
1951 - Curitiba PR - 8th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Departamento de Cultura - Sala de Exposições
1952 - Curitiba PR - 9th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Departamento de Cultura
1953 - Curitiba PR - 10th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Exposição Internacional do Café e Feira de Curitiba - Tarumã
1954 - Curitiba PR - 11th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1955 - Curitiba PR - 12th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná
1956 - Curitiba PR - 13th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná - acquisition prize
1958 - Curitiba PR - 15th Paraná Fine Arts Salon, at Biblioteca Pública do Paraná - acquisition prize
1970 - São Paulo SP - Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo 1970
1973 - Curitiba PR - Paraná Fine Arts Salon - special room
1983 - Curitiba PR - 40th Paraná Salon, at Sala de Exposições do Teatro Guaíra
1985 - Rio de Janeiro RJ - 8th National Visual Arts Salon, at MAM/RJ
1986 - Curitiba PR - Tradition/Contradiction, at MAC/PR
1988 - Curitiba PR - 8º Gravadores Paranaenses das Décadas de 50/60 [8th Paraná Printmakers of the 1950s/60s], at Museu Municipal de Arte
Posthumous Exhibitions
1991 - Curitiba PR - Retratos [Portraits], at MAC/PR
1991 - Curitiba PR - Museu Municipal de Arte: acervo [Museu Municipal de Arte: Collection], at Museu Municipal de Arte
2000 - Curitiba PR - Exposição Acervo BADEP [BADEP Collection Exhibition], at Secretaria do Estado de Educação
Source: Itaú Cultural
