In this text, Jean-Pierre Chabloz reports on certain natural and self-taught talent he found in the state of Ceará (in northeast Brazil). Most of these artists live in the complete anonymity typical of people with humble origins. By way of example, one such artist is Josias Benício, a modest photographer from Fortaleza (the state capital). He has great technical ability and a capacity for invention, going beyond the basic requirements for being a working photographer. In spite of his own financial straits, Benício invented a technique for replacing traditional settings (portrait backgrounds). What he did was to fit the individual subject into a landscape that was already recorded on the slide plate, thus avoiding photomontage and other tricks. After perfecting this inventive way of allowing multiple exposures on the same plate, the photographer became aware that his local milieu was very limited and decided to move to Recife (capital of the state of Pernambuco).

Here, Jean-Pierre Chabloz (1910–84) informs us of the potential of artists living in the state of Ceará, pointing out the ingenuity with which Josias Benício has invented solutions for his photographic work. In writing this text, Chabloz does not lose sight of the precarious economic resources of the period. Chabloz was also the one who brought to light the painting of Xico da Silva, whose work he collected, becoming the artist’s patron. Moreover, the contemporary critic Mário Baratta provided a substantial boost to the revival of art in Ceará (in the 1940s and 50s). Baratta also perceived that Chabloz’s writings served as a spur to local art at the time because of his profound social concerns.

Born in Switzerland, Jean-Pierre Chabloz (Lausanne, 1910) studied Fine Arts both in Geneva and Milan. During World War II (1943), chance led him to Ceará, where he was invited to participate in the 1st Salão de Abril (in the state capital, Fortaleza). His solid knowledge opened up a connection to the art and intellectual sphere there, and he came to develop a strong presence in Ceará as an art critic. One of his greatest contributions was his discovery of the artist Xico da Silva. While Chabloz never established a permanent residence in Fortaleza, he often returned for long stays and eventually died there in 1984.