This article discusses the artwork of José Antonio da Silva, which was deemed as primitive; it comments on the reception of his paintings during the transition from the 1940s into the 1950s. The writer, Theon Spanudis, points out its initial celebration by art critics in São Paulo, then its rejection in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a general attitude of scorn toward this work. The prevailing idea was that only the artist’s initial work was of interest or aesthetic value. Those who held this opinion believed that José Antonio da Silva had given in to commercial pressure, even if he had achieved some recognition in the official circles of the Brazilian art world. The writer rejects the arguments that label his genre as “primitivism,” along with his stance on the margin of life, in open opposition to the culture of his period. The artist’s complete nonconformity and negativity were focused on rules from the past and artistic traditionalism. According to the critical focus of Spanudis—with his psychoanalytical perspective—da Silva’s strong personality has more to do with being “Dionysian” and “demonic” than being ingenuous or childish, as people would like to label him. If these are the most common traits that define paintings called “primitive,” the artist’s work is far from it.

When the art critic and psychoanalyst Theon Spanudis published this article, the general assessment of “primitive art” in Brazilian art circles was based on its indigenous origins, far from the preferred European origins of art. Such undeniable preferences were clearly evident in the awarding of prizes and recognition generated at the national level during the first two Bienals de São Paulo. At the first exhibition, in 1951, the first prize was awarded to Heitor dos Prazeres; at the second in 1953, that prize was awarded to Elisa Martins. In his text, Spanudis mentions those awards in order to dismiss both artists, placing them in opposition to the “primitive” contribution by José Antonio da Silva, which goes way beyond anything childish or ingenuous. In his opinion, this is a body of work whose fierce and dramatic irony verges on cruelty. The artist’s strongest characteristic is his ability to combine technical development with an appearance that is unfailingly spontaneous, and his work eventually gained broader acceptance in the mid-1950s.

Born in Turkey, Theon Spanudis (1915–1986) grew up in Greece, was educated in Vienna and emigrated to Brazil in 1950, where he worked as a psychoanalyst until 1956. He then decided to take up literary and art criticism. He was a regular contributor to Habitat revista das artes no Brasil, edited by the architect Lina Bo Bardi. In 1959, Spanudis was an adherent and signer of the “Manifesto Neoconcreto” (Jornal do Brasil, March 22, 1959). Just a few years later, he took a less radical stance and even criticized the Neo-Concrete movement, led by Ferreira Gullar.