Antônio Rafael Pinto Bandeira

Painter
art professor

Antônio Rafael Pinto Bandeira (1863-1896) was an Afro-Brazilian painter and art professor.

Biography

He was descended from slaves and his father was a tailor. At the age of sixteen, he entered the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes (AIBA). From 1879 to 1884, he studied with João Zeferino da Costa.^[1] He was a regular participant in the "Exposições Geral de Belas Artes", where he won the Gold Medal for history painting in 1883. His first personal exhibition came in 1886 at AIBA.^[1]

In 1887, after failing to win a contest that would have enabled him to study in Europe and urged on by his friend Firmino Monteiro, he moved to Salvador,^[2] where he became the Professor of Design and Landscapes at the "Liceu de Artes e Ofícios".

Returning to his hometown in 1890 he tried, unsuccessfully, to establish his own art school.^[1] He continued to exhibit successfully, but became depressed at having his efforts to launch the school repeatedly thwarted. He drowned in Guanabara Bay, apparently while attempting to launch a boat, although his family and the press suggested that it may have been suicide.^[2] The body was not recovered for almost two weeks, so he was buried without an autopsy.

His painting "Lenhador" (Woodcutter) appeared on a two-part commemorative stamp in 2013,^[2] together with a painting by Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani, to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.