Brazilian painter born in Nova Friburgo, State of Rio, considered one of the masters of modern Brazilian painting. Deep in debt and with no prospects for improvement, the father apparently committed suicide (1906). With the insurance money, her mother was able to pay off the debts left by her husband and, a year later, she got married with Baron Friedrich von Schilgen, and the family moved to Europe, where he completed his studies elementary. He traveled to Germany (1916) and enrolled at the Royal Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (1917), where he stayed for five years and was influenced by expressionist teachers such as painter Hermann Groeber and graphic artist and illustrator Adolf Hengeler.
He resided (1918) in his mother's country house in Grasse, France, moving on to Switzerland and Italy, where he learned about modern European art. He came to Brazil, when he participated in the National Salon of Fine Arts (1924) and returned to Europe. Back in Brazil (1929), he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he taught drawing and painting at the Osório Foundation and at the former Universidade do Distrito Federal. He began a new phase (1934), where he revealed himself to be one of the best portrait artists of the time, mainly with portraits of children or women, with subtle landscapes and transparent colors.
Ten years later (1944) he moved to Belo Horizonte and founded the Municipal School of Fine Arts, where he exerted a great influence on younger generations. He dedicated himself to a study of the cities of Minas Gerais with a colonial baroque tradition, such as São João del Rei, Sabará and particularly Ouro Preto, where he began to live years later (1960). The contact with colonial art made his style suffer a slight influence from the sinuosities of the Baroque. In Ouro Preto, he created the Casa Guignard museum (1987), which houses some of his most important works.
He often used popular festivals as a theme, especially the June ones, often appearing as backgrounds for portraits. He died in Belo Horizonte, leaving works such as Família do Fuzileiro (1931), As Gemeas (1945) and Via sacra (1961), among others. In particular, he married at the age of 30, but was abandoned by his wife after the death of the couple's only child, just one year old. His ex-wife died a few years later (1930), but the painter assumed solitude as his only partner and never married again.
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Source: Biographies - Academic Unit of Civil Engineering / UFCG
Order A - Biography - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SCHOOL, Team Brazil. "Alberto da Veiga Guignard"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/alberto-da-veiga.htm. Accessed on June 29, 2021.
