"The world of art is revealed through illustrated magazines, and it is only natural that its primary object of interest is the human figure, or people. Copying is a standard exercise, either through the natural desire of 'making with one’s own hands' or through the facility the flattened image offers to the beginner engaged in the difficult task of reproducing the real world. These [...] drawings by the young Iberê (dating from 1927/28, when he was 13 or 14 years old) exemplify this procedure and reveal not just the attempts of a youngster but also noteworthy attention to issues of art, such as careful use of pure line and an interest in complex subject matter with large groups of people."
Paulo Gomes, Iberê e seu ateliê: as coisas, as pessoas e os lugares (Porto Alegre: Fundação Iberê Camargo, 2015), 152.