The representation of a great woman: the painting "Le manteau rouge"

Tarsila do Amaral, a Brazilian woman who, in the second decade of the 20th century, believing she had something to say with her art, sought her destiny with an unusual freedom for the time.


Get to know the self-portrait of this woman that is part of the collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

In 1969, the National Museum of Fine Arts acquired from Tarsila do Amaral, by purchase, the painting "Self-portrait - Le manteau rouge". This work was painted by Tarsila in 1923, in Paris. At that time, the artist frequented the studio of the french artist André Lhote (1855-1962).

In "Autorretrato - Le manteau rouge" Tarsila do Amaral portrays herself wearing the red coat she had worn to a reception in honor of Santos Dumont at the Hotel Clariage, in Paris, on April 23, 1923, at a dinner hosted by the Brazilian Ambassador, Souza Dantas.

The coat had a high collar

edged, near the bust,

by flowers at each end,

drawing a wide neckline, leaving her neck bare.

The background of the portrait, in shades of blue,

highlights her fair-skinned face, shrouded in a luminous aura,

where the well-drawn, red mouth also stands out,

hair bound with a line defining the outline,

eyes shaded a blurry blue, giving her a certain mysterious, distant look.

When we observe the way Tarsila chose to portray herself in "Le manteau rouge," we see that the strength of this representation remains as testimony to one of her most striking and golden times, those of her youth and

that it is no wonder that her name still reverberates to this day beyond the cultural boundaries of her native country.