Brazilian Romantic painting

Brazilian Romantic painting was the main expression of the plastic arts in Brazil in the second half of the 19th century. This pictorial production was part of the local evolution of the Romantic movement and approximately coincided with the period of the Second Reign, but its characteristics were unique, differing in several points in relation to the original version of European Romanticism and likewise cannot be considered an exact parallel to the manifestation of Romanticism in Brazilian literature of the same period. It had a palatial and restrained aspect, brought a strong neoclassical influence and soon blended with Realism, Symbolism and other schools, in an eclectic synthesis that prevailed until the early years of the 20th century.

In ideological terms, the painting of Brazilian Romanticism revolved mainly around the country's nationalist movement orchestrated by emperor Pedro II, aware of the problems arising from the lack of cultural unity in such a vast country and interested in presenting an image of a civilized and progressive Brazil to the world. This nationalism found its greatest expression in the visual reconstruction of important historical events, in the portrayal of nature and popular types, and in the rehabilitation of the indigenous figure, bequeathing a body of artwork that figures prominently in Brazilian museums to this day, and whose symbolism greatly contributed to the construction of a national identity.