The career of the Santa Catarina painter Victor Meirelles, from Desterro, now Florianópolis, to his studies at the National Academy of Fine Arts (RJ), where he later taught.
He also had a long experience and education in Europe, not to mention his great works of historical painting and commissions from Emperor Dom Pedro II.
Highlights include the paintings The First Mass in Brazil (about the Discovery), Battle of Guararapes (about the Dutch presence in Brazil) and Naval Battle of Riachuelo (about the Paraguayan War).
Who was Victor Meirelles?
Victor Meirelles (1832-1903) was a renowned Brazilian painter and teacher, recognized as one of the main representatives of 19th century history painting.
Born in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, on August 18, 1832, Meirelles showed an early talent for drawing and a passion for landscapes.
He began his artistic training in 1845, studying with the Argentine Marciano Moreno.
At the age of 14, he entered the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, where he was taught by José Correia de Lima, a disciple of Debret.
In 1852, he won a gold medal from the Academy for his painting “Saint John the Baptist in Prison”.
In search of further education, Meirelles traveled to Europe, spending eight years in Italy and France on a scholarship paid for by Dom Pedro II between 1853 and 1861.
In Rome, he studied with Nicola Consoni and made studies with live models, which were fundamental to historical painting.
In Venice, he was enchanted by the technique and color of Venetian painters such as Titian, Tintoretto and Lorenzo Lotto.
On his return to Brazil in 1861, he was acclaimed and decorated by King Pedro II, receiving the title of “Knight of the Imperial Order of Christ” and the “Imperial Order of the Rose”.
He became a professor of history painting at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and produced important works such as “Moema” and the portraits of Pedro II and Empress Tereza Cristina.
In 1868, he was commissioned to paint two pictures related to the “Paraguayan War” and spent six months in the region of the conflict on board the ship Brasil, producing works such as “Naval Combat of Riachuelo” and “Passage of Humaitá”.
Victor Meirelles - Frames of History from CurtaDoc Collection on Vimeo.
Meirelles also worked on panoramas, such as “Circular Panorama of the City of Rio de Janeiro” and “Entry of the Legal Squadron into the Port of Rio de Janeiro in 1894”.
In addition to his remarkable career as an artist, Meirelles played a significant role in the training of several painters during the 30 years he taught at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts.
He died in Rio de Janeiro on February 22, 1903, leaving an artistic legacy of great importance to the history of Brazilian painting.
The First Mass
The “First Mass” made its European debut at the Paris Salon in 1861, marking the first time a Brazilian painting was exhibited at this prestigious event.
Meirelles' work is known for depicting intense and atmospheric scenes, a characteristic that is also present in his paintings related to the Paraguayan War.
The representation of indigenous people in the work portrays them with an innocent, childlike curiosity.
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