Antônio Teles

The enslaved Antônio Telles created sacred art works, including paintings, sculptures and drawings in churches in Rio de Janeiro and in Olinda, Pernambuco. Telles, Miguel do Loreto, José Bento and other Black artists were captives of the Order of Saint Benedict who decorated churches with works on canvas and wood. Between the decades of 1720 and 1780, Master Antônio Telles, as he was known, created works for the Monasteries of Saint Benedict in Rio de Janeiro and Olinda.