ArteRef

For those looking for works from colonial Brazil, there is a specific website for that.

Brasiliana Iconográfica, the first portal to bring together drawings, watercolors, paintings and engravings from four of the main public and private Brazilian collections, and to make content and information about Brazilian iconography available to the public in the digital environment in some fundamental pieces produced since the arrival of the Europeans in the sixteenth century.

Created as a result of a partnership between Instituto Moreira Salles, Biblioteca Nacional, Itaú Cultural and Pinacoteca de São Paulo.

The term involves everything related to the culture and history of Brazil, dating from the 16th century, when the first maps and books on Portuguese America began to circulate.

The initial set of around 2,500 works gives access to the high definition images of each collection, with a zoom feature so that the works can be observed in detail, as well as information about them: origin, themes, stories and catalogue.

Access the website here

The IMS (Moreira Salles Institution) collection includes approximately 2,000 images, including drawings and watercolors, separate prints, travellers’ books, souvenir albums and maps, which played an important role in promoting the then young Brazilian nation on the world stage.

This set brings together a large number of traveling artists who portrayed Brazil throughout the 19th century.

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