This text forms part of a series of articles on painter Ismael Nery (1900–34) written by author and diplomat Murilo Mendes (1901–75). The texts were published in the journal Letras e Artes and in the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo in 1948 and 1949 respectively. The series was essential to gaining Nery critical attention and to drawing public attention to his important painting at a time when the artist was still largely unknown on the Brazilian art scene.
The text interrogates the nature of Nery’s ties to French Surrealism, specifically to the work of Russian painter Marc Chagall, who lived in France for much of his life. This text by Murilo is one of the first to reflect on the singularity of Nery’s work in Brazilian culture. Mendes and Nery were close friends starting in the twenties and through 1934, when the painter deceased.
For further reading on Nery’s work, see “Eu” (doc. no. 1110381), written by the artist himself; Mário de Andrade’s “Ismael Nery: excertos de textos” (doc. no. 1110382); Murilo Mendes’s untitled text [“Ismael Nery nasceu em Belém do Pará (…)”] (doc. no. 1110383) and his “Recordações de Ismael Nery” (doc. no. 1110379); Bruno de Menezes’s “Ismael Nery, artista que honrou a Amazonia” (doc. no. 1111002); and Aníbal Machado’s “A morte de Ismael Nery” (doc. no. 1110380).