Tarsila in Quotation Marks

Interview with Tarsila do Amaral (left), recorded at her apartment on Rua Albuquerque Lins (1971-05) by Plácido de Campos JúniorMuseu da Imagem e do Som

Excerpt of the Interview with Tarsila do Amaral, recorded on May 13, 1971. MIS Collection.
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As you navigate the exhibition, listen to the interview Tarsila do Amaral gave at her residence in 1971. The interview is part of MIS’s online collection and is available at the following links:
Part 1
Part 2

Broadening our remit, the Museu da Imagem e do Som de São Paulo (MIS) is making some of its precious archive available online. One of the hallmarks of this collection is the interview Tarsila do Amaral gave to Aracy Amaral, Paulo Mendes de Almeida, Maria Eugênia Franco, Oswald de Andrade Filho, and Francisco Luiz de Almeida Salles at her home on May 13, 1971.

This exhibition, Tarsila entre aspas (Tarsila in Quotation Marks), is built around this interview, garnished with images from the MIS Archive in order to provide the public with a valuable trove of material related to one of the leading artists of the Brazilian modernist movement, whose oeuvre continues to echo today.

The interviewers, all equally important figures on the Brazilian art and culture scene, coaxed memories and stories out of Tarsila do Amaral that not only turn up key facts in her life and career, but also bring out certain traits in her character, such as her generosity and modesty, refined sense of humor, and the simplicity of her country roots.  

Fond memories of her childhood, her shyness, departure for Paris, missing the Modern Art Week in 1922, her travels, and introduction to the São Paulo vanguard are just some of the themes covered in the interview that structures this virtual exhibition, which also features fragments of poems about the artist by Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Oswald de Andrade, and passages from a recent book by the historian Mary Del Priore, which offers a deeper perspective on Tarsila the woman.  

Rosana Caramaschi

historian and curator of the exhibition

Ranch workers lodgings at Santa Tereza Ranch, owned by Tarsila do Amaral’s family (1920) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“I have loads of memories… I was extremely free, I’d play, frolic along the walls and in the trees, I loved to play, I had five brothers.”


From the transcription of the interview with Tarsila do Amaral, recorded on May 13, 1971. MIS Collection.

Piolin (Abelardo Pinto) at Santa Tereza Ranch, owned by Tarsila do Amaral (1920/1929) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

Tarsila do Amaral in Paris (1927) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“In 1920, Tarsila embarked for Europe […] settling in Paris […]According to João Souza Lima, the Tarsila that arrived in Paris had girlish airs, but a woman’s boldness.”(Mary Del Priore. From the book Tarsila – Uma vida doce-amarga, 2022)

“I’d always been bashful, terribly shy, and I still am today… I even quit studying piano under Souza Lima because of it. After three years of lessons, I stopped, because I knew I’d have to go on stage… I started painting out of timidity.”

Oswald de Andrade and Tarsila do Amaral in Paris (1927) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

Tarsila do Amaral (1920/1929) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“Paul Poiret used to make my dresses.” (French designer, 1879–1944).


“I made a painting especially, one of my best, called A caipirinha (Country Girl). Oswald took the title and wrote a poem for me: Caipirinha vestida de Poiret.”

Oswald de Andrade and Tarsila do Amaral on deck (1920/1929) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“I received a letter from Anita Malfatti telling me all about the Modern Art Week.”


“Soon after that [June, 1922], Anita, who was already my good friend, introduced me to Oswaldo de Andrade, Menotti del Picchia, and Mário de Andrade.”

Patrícia Galvão, Anita Malfatti, Benjamin Peret, Tarsila do Amaral, Oswald de Andrade, Elsie Houston, Alvaro Moreyra, Eugênia Álvaro Moreyra, and an unidentified individual (1920/1929) by Authorship unknown and Authorship of the reproduction unknownMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“I received visits from lots of people… my studio was huge, so there was room for plenty of people.”

Invitation addressed to Tarsila do Amaral for a literary dinner in honor of Paulo Prado at René Thiollier’s Villa Fortunata, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Program, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Oswald de Andrade and Tarsila do Amaral photographed alongside dona Olívia Guedes Penteado (center), Betita Penteado (with a copy of Pau Brasil), Goffredo da Silva Telles, and Carolina Penteado da Silva Telles (1925) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“Dona Olívia [Guedes Penteado] often met with us too. And Di Cavalcanti would always be there, as was I.”

Oswald de Andrade, Tarsila do Amaral, and dona Olívia Guedes Penteado at Santo Antônio Ranch, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Oswald de Andrade and Tarsila do Amaral, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Tarsila do Amaral and Oswald de Andrade, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Tarsila do Amaral and Oswald de Andrade, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1920/1929, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Oswald de Andrade and Tarsila do Amaral, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1927, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Tarsila do Amaral at Santo Antônio Ranch, owned by dona Olívia Guedes Penteado (1924) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

Trip to Minas Gerais (1923) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“I remember everything about our trip to Minas. Mário de Andrade also came.”

Right to left: Tarsila do Amaral, Oswald de Andrade, Dulce, Dr. Altino Arantes, Biela Arantes, Cláudio de Souza, and Dona Luisinha (1926) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“The tour of the Orient was driven by a curiosity to see new things, see the East, which was so very different to our reality here.”

Trip to the Middle East: Tarsila do Amaral, Oswald de Andrade, and Nonê, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1926, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Trip to the Middle East (left to right): Nonê (hidden from view), Claudio de Souza, Tarsila do Amaral, and Oswald de Andrade, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1923, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Trip to the Middle East: Tarsila, Nonê, and Oswald de Andrade, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1926, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Trip to the Middle East: Nonê, Tarsila do Amaral, Oswald de Andrade, and Dulce, Authorship unknown, Reproduced by Fernando Scavone, 1926, From the collection of: Museu da Imagem e do Som
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Trip to the Middle East: Oswald de Andrade, Tarsila, and Dulce aboard ship (seated in the second row on the right) (1926) by Authorship unknown and Reproduced by Fernando ScavoneMuseu da Imagem e do Som

Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Modern Art Week of 1922: Tarsila do Amaral at the MASP exhibition (1972) by Gabriel BondukiMuseu da Imagem e do Som

“There’s the thing… I was always very correct in this regard. People were forever saying that I took part in the Modern Art Week, which was almost like a laurel, wasn’t it? But no, I heard all about it in Paris, in a letter from Anita Malfatti.”

“I still work. These are all new; these paintings are recent … I’m still producing.”


“They’re already copying me.”

(From the transcription of the interview with Tarsila do Amaral, recorded on May 13, 1971. MIS Collection)

Tarsila do Amaral was born on September 1, 1886, in the town of Capivari, São Paulo State, and died on January 17, 1973, in the city of São Paulo.








SÃO PAULO  STATE GOVERNMENT


Governor  
Tarcísio de Freitas


Head of the São Paulo State Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy
Marilia Marton


State Executive Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy
Frederico Mascarenhas
   

Head of the Cabinet
Maithê Rocha da Costa Monteiro


Coordinator of the Museum Heritage Unit
Paula Paiva Ferreira



ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL CICCILLO MATARAZZO

ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD  


Chairman
Roberto Giannetti da Fonseca   

Vice Chairman   
Sergio Kobayashi  

Board Members
Fernanda Romano 
Luis Henrique Sartoratti 
Mauro Garcia 
Rita Okamura


FINANCIAL BOARD


Board Members
Gil Marcos Clarindo dos Santos
Olinda Amazonas Martins
Rita Marques
Sonia Maria da Silva


ADVISORY BOARD

Board Members  
Dalva Abrantes de Mendonça 
Marcelo Hallake 
Max Perlingeiro 



MUSEU DA IMAGEM E DO SOM


General Director
Marcos Mendonça  

Management and Finance Director
Gil Costa 

Cultural Director
Cláudia Vendramini Reis

Administrative Manager
Ana Paula Braga 

Financial Manager
Luis Henrique Sartoratti

Cultural Manager
Renan Daniel

Institutional Assistant
Débora Botelho Brandão

Credits: Story

TARSILA IN QUOTATION MARKS 

Curator 
Rosana Caramaschi 


Producer 
Isabela Olmos 

Researcher 
Adriana Veríssimo 

Scanning  
Cássia Aranha 
Guilherme Savioli 


Mounting of the Virtual Exhibition 
Patricia Lira 

Text Revision  
Cristiane B. Futagawa [Sushi] 
Regina Stocklen  

 Acknowledgments 
Aracy Amaral 
Carmelita de Moraes 
Centro de Documentação Cultural "Alexandre Eulalio" - Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / UNICAMP 
Fernando Scavone 
Gabriel Bonduki 
Karina Israel 
Rudá de Andrade Filho 
Tarsila do Amaral 
Tarsila do Amaral Empreendimentos 

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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