Portrait of Mestre Valentim

Valentim da Fonseca e Silva was the son of Manuel da Fonseca e Silva, a Portuguese nobleman who worked as a diamond merchant in the Diamantino District, Minas Gerais, and Joana, a Brazilian-born enslaved woman. After the death of his father and in returning from a period living with his parents in Europe, he established his own workshop in Rio de Janeiro and became a key artist of the late Brazilian Baroque of the nineteenth century. He created works for churches such as Nossa Senhora da Conceição e Boa Morte, São Francisco de Paula and Candelária, among many others. His decoration of the chapel of the Novitiate of the Order (1773-1780) was his most representative work. Mestre Valentim also created urban works in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, such as the Passeio Público, inaugurated in 1783, and the Carmo and Marrecas fountains. The artist belonged to the Fraternity of Brown People of Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Benedict.