In 1974, French artist Jacques Van de Beuque acquired a site in the Recreio neighborhood, in Pontal, which borders Barra da Tijuca, and built the house that was the museum's first headquarters, opened to the public in 1993. In However, it had to be transferred after successive floods that threatened the destruction of the collection. The museum reopened in its current space in 2021.
Jacques Van de Beuque was a visual artist who, in the context of the Second World War, spoke out against fascism, which led to his imprisonment in a forced labor camp for around two years. After his freedom and with encouragement from Cândido Portinari, he arrived in Brazil. In the 1950s, he traveled to Recife and was enchanted by the work of popular artists, starting his collection. He traveled the country for years acquiring pieces that are now part of the museum's collection.
It is the first solo exhibition by an artist at the Pontal Museum and features paintings, a rare expression in the collection. Maria José Lisboa da Cruz, known as Roxinha, is from Alagoas, residing in Lagoa de Pedra, close to Ilha do Ferro – a stronghold of sculptors and embroiderers –, in the Municipality of Pão de Açúcar. She worked as a farmer, in a local quarry and was also a street sweeper. He started drawing and painting in different media to occupy his time.
Photo: Thiago Diniz
The room displays works by northeastern artists that represent the experiences of their communities: rural life, professions, life cycles, etc. From this, we can reflect on how these experiences intersect in Rio de Janeiro since the end of the 19th century with the large movements of northeastern populations to the city in search of better living conditions, a diaspora to survive the lack of resources in their places of residence. origin.
Photo: Thiago Diniz
Circuses are part of the city's landscape and help tell the story of our territory and characters that are not usually presented in traditional narratives. Through the works of art on display, we can think about Rio's circus traditions in spaces such as Praça Onze, considered official circus territory. The place for assembling tarpaulins was named Pátio Palhaço Benjamin de Oliveira, in reference to one of the first black clowns in Brazil.
In the exhibition that highlights the work of artists and their traditions, we highlight the Karajá Dolls. The craft and ways of making Karajá Dolls were recognized as Cultural Heritage of Brazil in 2012 by IPHAN. The way they are sculpted in clay and decorated represent the cultural relationships and relationships with nature of the Karajá indigenous people. From the choice of clay to the technique, a whole set of specific knowledge is involved.
The room expresses the art and life that develops around the elements. From the works of art that represent people's relationships with water, we can think about the relevance of water for the development of the city of Rio de Janeiro, from Guanabara Bay to the lagoons, restingas and mangroves of Barra da Tijuca.
In this room we see many works that make reference to religions of African origin, which historically were and still are persecuted and attacked by civil society and the State based on discourses of Christian colonialist origin that produced religious racism. It is in this context of persecution that samba was born, in the terreiro of Hilária Batista de Almeida, Tia Ciata. The carnival that expanded the spread of samba is also represented in this exhibition as it is considered a popular devotion.
João das Alagoas is a popular artist from the municipality of Capela (AL), recognized as a Living Cultural Heritage of Alagoas and one of the greatest sculptors in Brazil. He is a master at modeling everyday scenes through clay and his signature is the works of bumbá oxen sculpted in low and high relief containing stories from northeastern folklore, street games, weddings, baptisms and festivities. You can follow the artist on his Instagram @joaodasalagoas.capela.alagoas
On the Museu do Pontal channel on the YouTube platform, content is available that contributes to expanding knowledge about art and popular culture, including videos of events that took place at the institution, such as the Cycle of Debates Modernisms, Art and Popular Culture (2022) and the Seminar Popular Art under discussion - Jacques Van de Beuque Centenary (2023), in addition to lives and documentaries.
The Pontal Museum's collection contains many works of art that portray the ways of life in the northeastern hinterland, but the region in which the institution is based was also considered a backcountry area. It was the researcher and writer Magalhães Corrêa in his work “O Sertão Carioca” (1936) who used and popularized the term when documenting the city's rural territories, mainly those in the West Zone, including the landscape of the wetlands of Barra da Tijuca.
The Pontal Museum is the first in Brazil to produce 100% of the energy it consumes. In its construction, solar panels, large windows and glass doors were installed to allow natural cross ventilation and the use of natural light. Rainwater is also reused in an irrigation system for the gardens that have tens of thousands of seedlings of 73 native Brazilian species.
