The formation of the state of Rio Grande do Sul

During the 1950s, when Ernesto Dornelles was in office, one of the largest murals painted by the artist was commissioned from Aldo Locatelli, who had only recently arrived in Brazil. The work was supposed to summarize the formation of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, according to the thinking of the time.

In the foreground is a family made up of a mother, father and children around a fire. The image represents the foundation of the state based on family values.

In the left-hand corner, between heads of cattle, we can see rural workers linked to livestock farming. Thus forming the primordial triad of the state: Family, agriculture and livestock. 

At the top we see a group of pioneers. With their trailblazing gazes, one of them points the way. They represent the conquests and territorial expansion for the glory of Portugal - according to the hegemonic thinking at the time.

In a prominent place at the top, is the figure of the indigenous person. Its presence at the time generated controversy, since for a current of historians of the period, everything related to the indigenous would be linked to Spain, and not to the Lusitanian matrix.

Jumping over the shadow of the state map and restarting the mural's cyclical narrative is the figure of the gaucho, “centaur of the pampas”. We can see a power tower, an element that the governor had commissioned from the painter, as it was an achievement of his administration.