Antônio Parreiras

Who was Antônio Parreiras?

Antônio Parreiras was a Brazilian painter. Although much of his work was made up of historical and nude paintings, he expressed himself best in his landscapes, which combined European influences with those of his native Brazil.

In 1883, Parreiras met German painter George Grimm, who taught landscape, flora and wildlife painting, while studying at Brazil's Fine Arts Imperial Academy. Grimm influenced Parreiras to move away from academic traditions of painting in favor of the direct observation of nature, free brushstrokes and luminosity.

Parreiras traveled throughout Europe for a number of years, visiting many countries including Germany, Italy, and France, exhibiting his first female nude at the Salon in Paris in 1907. He continued to visit Europe after permanently returning to Brazil in 1914, and in 1929 received a gold medal in the Exposition International in Seville.

Parreiras also founded the Plein Air School in Niterói, Brazil, and a museum holding many of his works, the Museum Antônio Parreiras, is also in Niterói.