The Brasilian Museum of Naive Art in Rio de Janeiro http://www.museunaif.com.br/ is an overlooked little treasure house at the foot of the hill – Corcovado – on which the statue of Cristo Redentor stands with its arms spread wide. A pleasant villa beside the rack rail tram terminal for the journey to go up Corcovado, it sees a tiny fraction of the visitors to the statue. But it is very much worth a look.
To be sure, Corcovado is a visual delight. You can see why Tom Jobim’s jazz standard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8pmAGjqMU4 spotlights it. The views of Rio from its heights are breathtaking.
Rio’s natural setting and its flora and fauna are memorable.
The paintings in the museum, though not always well lit, are a fascinating international cross-section of naive art.
They range from works which take their cue from the high art tradition
to more lyrically abstract pieces,
from the documentary
to the quirkily poetic.
But whether they portray animals or people, at work
or at play,
they do what all good art can do:
they transform the way you see. Truly worth a look, if you’ve already made the journey to or from Corcovado’s more well-known art work.
[…] subjects. His work raises strong echoes in Brazil, where the naive approach is alive and well http://theproverbial.org/2012/08/26/arte-naif-rio/ Naive art and indeed street art – graffiti, murals, posters – flourish here, so it […]
I love the married couple. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure! The Portuguese word – casada – seems very direct to me: they’ve set up house (um casa).
Fame at last for my shoe!!! You should write travel guides. Xx