The issue of landscape painting in the academic universe in the 19TH century: the case of Agostinho José da Mota

Abstract

This article is based on two premises: on the one hand, the fact that our historiography has always insisted on the secondary role of landscape among the Brazilian artists of the nineteenth century, on the other hand, the fact that we still know little about this type of painting in the time period between the Taunays in the first half of the century, and the Grimm Group in the 1880s. It is exactly about this interim period that this work aims to contribute by highlighting the artist Agostinho José da Mota. Graduated from Rio de Janeiro Academy, he was the only winner of the Travel Award in the category Landscape Painting during the imperial period and ended up studying in Rome. Subsequently, he was a professor of landscape painting at the Academy for 18 years. He kept his private workshop open to students outside the academic circuit, including women. His known work features landscapes and still lifes. Most are paintings, but he also worked with lithographies.