Rubem Valentim (9 November 1922 – 30 November 1991) was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. A self-taught artist, he started to paint as a child, doing figure and landscapes for Christmas crèches.[1]

Rubem Valentim
Born9 November 1922 Edit this on Wikidata
Died30 November 1991 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 69)
OccupationPainter Edit this on Wikidata

Biography

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Valentim graduated in dentistry in 1946, and practiced the profession while continuing to paint. In 1948, he left dentistry to devote himself entirely to plastic arts. He went on to study Journalism and received his bachelor's degree from the School of Philosophy of Bahia in 1953. He participated in the renovative movement in the arts, which began in Bahia in 1978–1948.[2][3]

Career

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In 1957, Valentim moved to Rio de Janeiro. He was awarded a fellowship for travel abroad in 1962 by the XI National Salon of Modern Art. He traveled to Europe for 3 years, expressing an interest in the art of primitive peoples. He eventually settled in Rome, working and holding exhibitions there. He visited the Venice Biennials of 1964 and 1966. He traveled to Senegal to participate in the First World Festival of Negro Art in Dakar, Senegal in 1966. He returned to Brazil in 1966, after accepting an invitation from the Central Institute of the Arts of the University of Brasília. He was awarded a Special Prize for "Contribution to Brazilian Painting".[4]

Valentim's contributions to the art world as writer and essayist are documented in the archives of research institutes and museum libraries across the Americas.[5] He authored and published the Manifesto ainda que tardio (“Manifesto, albeit belated“) in 1976. In the text, he proposes an anticolonial agenda in the arts.[6] His work has received scholarly attention both in Brazil and abroad.[7]

In 2018, the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) organized a major career survey showcasing 99 artworks by Valentim, who is a key figure in the 20th-century Brazilian art.[8][9]

Notable artworks in public collections

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References

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  1. ^ "Rubem Valentim". C& AMÉRICA LATINA. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  2. ^ "Rubem Valentim → The Approach". Rubem Valentim → The Approach. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  3. ^ "Artnexus". www.artnexus.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  4. ^ The Rhythm of the Rite or the super-semiotic art of Rubem Valentim
  5. ^ "A contemporaneidade de Rubem Valentim · ICAA Documents Project · ICAA/MFAH". icaa.mfah.org. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  6. ^ "Manifesto ainda que tardio · ICAA Documents Project · ICAA/MFAH". icaa.mfah.org. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  7. ^ Dardashti, Abigail Lapin (2021-07-03). "Abstracted Resistance: Third-Worldism in Rubem Valentim's Afro-Brazilian Symbolism, 1963–66". Art Journal. 80 (3): 56–77. doi:10.1080/00043249.2021.1920287. ISSN 0004-3249.
  8. ^ "MASP". MASP (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  9. ^ "Rubem Valentim: Afro-Atlantic Constructions - Announcements - e-flux". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  10. ^ a b "MASP". MASP (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  11. ^ "Emblema 79 (Emblem 79) • Pérez Art Museum Miami". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2023-09-26.