Photo Tour - The International Museum of Naive Art of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

The International Museum of Naïve Art of Brazil is located in a nineteenth-century house at the foot of Corcovado, in the historic district of Cosme Velho.

At the time of this writing, the museum is open for school visits and to the general public by appointment, for guided tours only.

I thank MIAN president Mariza Campos da Paz for granting me permission to take these photos and for the wealth of information provided.

As soon as they enter MIAN, visitors are greeted by the splendid panel "Rio de Janeiro, I Like You. I Like These Happy People" (400cm X 700cm), painted on a single piece of canvas between 1983 and 1988 by Rio artist Lia Mittarakis. The painting is one of the two largest pieces of naïve art in the world - and they're both at MIAN.

When she was painting the panel, the artist could never unfold the canvas inside her small house on Paquetá Island. She had to roll up what was ready as the work progressed and only saw the whole panel when it was going to be displayed to the public.

Lia Mittarakis's painting "Wonderful Rio" was chosen to illustrate the 1992 Earth Summit Time Magazine cover.

One of the characteristics of naïve art is a free approach to perspective. In the panel by Lia Mittarakis, geography is delightfully subverted in her organization of Rio's landmarks. But viewers can easily recognize attractions such as the Sugarloaf and Guanabara Bay.

Active beachgoers enjoy a sunny day on Copacabana in "Rio, I Like You. I Like These Happy People", by Lia Mittarakis.

The International Museum of Naïve Art of Brazil as seen by Lia Mittarakis in her Rio de Janeiro panel at MIAN.

The Panamerican Exhibit at MIAN has wonderful works from several countries in the Americas. One of the most important is "Arrival of the Spanish" (76cm X 97cm, 1992) by Ecuadorian artist Toaquiza, founder of the Cooperative of Naïve Art of Ecuador.

The painting depicts centuries of Latin American history, from the arrival of the first Spaniards to a contemporary scene of a Corpus Christi celebration which highlights the mingling of cultures in the continent.

The International Museum of Naïve Art of Brazil has samples of mola art, a kind of fabric art originally created by women of the Kuna tribe of Panama. "Fish" (27,3cm X 36,5cm, 1990) is one of them.

Molas are created with a juxtaposition of sewn strips of brightly colored fabric, in a striking tridimensional effect.

During a trip to China, Lucien Finkelstein and Marisa Paz went to a commune which they knew was a source of great naïve art. They brought back piles of paintings, including "Picking Watermelons" (46.5cm X 56.8cm), by Wang Xiaojin.

Comissioned by MIAN, "Brazil - Five Centuries of Struggles", by Aparecida Azedo, is the other largest work of naïve art in the world belonging to the museum.

The work measures 1,40m X 25m and covers two of the museum's walls. It can be viewed from the second floor, where cards briefly explain the historic scenes.

The artist painted the panel between 1991 and 1995 on a single roll of canvas. The scenes go from the discovery of Brazil in 1500 to the foundation of Brasília in 1960. The name of the painting reflects the artist's politically engaged stance.

In "Brazil - Five Centuries of Struggles", Aparecida Azedo painted scenes in such a way that each historic episode merges seamlessly into the next, as can be seen in the Proclamation of Republic and The Rubber Cycle.

In typical naïve artistic freedom, she made sure her desired number of soldiers in the Republic scene fit by bending the row.