Making the "Fatherland"
Enter the room where women sew the Republican National Flag to discover details of Pedro Bruno's work
"Pátria" (1919) by Pedro BrunoMuseu da República
In this picture, Pedro Bruno wanted to honor the sacrifice of mothers who gave their children to the country in times of war. The work, produced during the years of World War I (1914-1918), earned its author the prize at the Salon of the National School of Fine Arts in 1919.
However, the painting was more successful as an allegory of the Republic and Brazilian nationality, according to the official view of the State, the dominant social classes and the positivist philosophy, which inspired the design of the republican National Flag and its motto "Ordem e Progresso".
The National Flag crosses the entire image, connecting its characters to each other. Officialized as a national symbol on November 19, 1889, it preserved the colors of green, yellow, blue and white that already existed in the former National Flag of the Empire.
In "Fatherland", the artist represented the historical past through the elements in the background of the image. This elderly woman, likely mother and grandmother of the family, holds a green and yellow cloth that could be the imperial flag.
The elderly man in the right corner wears the uniform of a soldier from the Paraguay War (1864-1870), won by the Triple Alliance between Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The economic and political crisis caused by this war weakened the monarchy and boosted the republican movement.
Pedro Bruno also portrayed the "heroes" of the official patriotic cult, represented in the paintings on the wall: on the left, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, considered the "founder" of the Republic; and on the right Tiradentes, who would have been the "precursor" of the republican idea.
The work indicates where and how women should make their "Fatherland": at home, through motherhood and through domestic work. Here, the idea of the patriarchal family is reproduced as a microcosm of the Fatherland, both guided by the same feelings and obligations.
On the table, we see a portrait of a man in military garb. Would it be the son, husband and father, father, elderly, women and children, who is at war? Despite the domestic calm, some elements of the scene associate the construction of nationality with bellicose and militarized processes.
Does the statuette on the table represent a Catholic Our Lady or the Goddess of humanity of the positivists? The artist's preference for the former is suggested by the ray of light over the figure's head (a symbol of the sacred in Catholic religious iconography) and by the blue cloak.
The mother who hugs and kisses her baby seems to imitate the posture of the religious figurine. Women in domestic and maternal roles are recurrent themes in Pedro Bruno's work, in addition to the beach and fishing scenes on Ilha de Paquetá (RJ), where he was born.
The act of sewing the flag serves as an allegory of the national feeling: elaborated from previous generations, it offers comfort and protection to future generations, represented by the children in front. According to the artist, the boy in the center is "predestined" to the glory of the Fatherland.
The absence of blacks, mulattos and Indians from this allegory of nationality offered by "Fatherland" was in tune with the thinking of Brazilian elites who saw in Western Europe the ideal model of civilization to be followed by Brazil, in racial, social and political terms.
Brazil's flag (1889/1890) by Maria Joaquina Botelho de Magalhães and daughters (attributed)Museu da República
A well-known interpretation of "Fatherland" is that the work represents the manufacture of this National Flag, belonging to the collection of the Museum of the Republic and which was made by the wife and daughters of the republican leader Benjamin Constant in 1890.
Ministerial HallMuseu da República
Acquired by the Union, "Fatherland" decorated the Guanabara Palace until the late 1940s, when it was transferred to the Ministerial Hall of the Catete Palace. Since then, it has been reproduced in various media, such as stamps, book covers, banknotes and phone cards.
Museu da República /IBRAM/SECULT
Director - Mario Chagas
Technical Coordination - Daniela Matera do M. Lins
Communication Sector - Henrique Milen
Texts and editing : Paulo Celso Corrêa Bibliography: CORREA, Paulo Celso Liberato (org.). "República em Documentos - Série Documentos Museológicos nº 3: Pátria". Rio de Janeiro: Museu da República, 2019.
