Belmiro de Almeida


Belmiro Barbosa de Almeida was a Brazilian painter, illustrator, sculptor and caricaturist.

Biography

His first lessons were at the "Liceu de Artes e Ofícios" in Rio de Janeiro. Later, he enrolled at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes, where he studied with Agostinho José da Mota and João Zeferino da Costa.
In the late 1880s, he travelled to Rome and Paris, where he studied at the Académie Julian, worked in the studios of Jules Lefebvre and participated in several Salons. After that time, having become enamored of the French capitol, he alternated his residence between Paris and Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, from 1893 to 1896, he held the Chair of Drawing at the old "Escola Nacional de Belas Artes", substituting for Pedro Weingärtner. In 1916, he was appointed to the Chair for drawing from live models.
During this time, he also provided illustrations and caricatures for several local publications. As a sculptor, he is best known for his figure of Manequinho, which is on a public square in front of the Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas clubhouse and has become the club's mascot.
He settled in Paris permanently after World War I, but continued to participate in the "Exposições Gerals de Belas Artes", winning the Grand Gold Medal in 1921. Perhaps his most famous painting is Arrufos, which used the art critic Gonzaga Duque as a model. In turn, Almeida inspired a character in Duque's novel Mocidade Morta.

Selected paintings