In this text, José Valladares remarks on the show of prints by Brazilian artist Poty Lazzarotto held in the city of Salvador, in the state of Bahia, in 1950. Valladares sheds light on Lazzarotto’s professional training and the range of techniques he uses. He places particular emphasis on the artist’s careful technique as well as the dramatic quality of the works on exhibit. Valladares points out the series of prints on the theme of Bahia and the residents of Salvador.

This document records the visit of (Napoleon) Poty(guara) Lazzarotto (1924–98), a master Brazilian illustrator, to the city of Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, for a few months in 1950. During his visit, the artist coordinated a printing course for local artists and even organized a show of their work. A great many artists experimented with printmaking in the forties and fifties as part of a movement of “modernist” innovation of the art scene in northeastern Brazil.

Journalist and critic José [Antonio do Prado] Valladares (1917–59) had a background in museology. He was the director of the Museu do Estado da Bahia (1939–43) and gave classes in aesthetics at the Universidade da Bahia, founded under that name in 1946 and later renamed the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBa). He also wrote reviews in the local press. In some cases, he was the first critic to discuss the work of young artists who were introducing Modern art to the region.

[For other texts by José Valladares, see in the ICAA digital archive “Arte moderna na Bahia” (doc. no. 1110845); “Movimento artístico bahiano” (doc. no. 1110700); “O salão bahiano I: visitantes e instalação” (doc. no. 1110847); “O anjo azul”  (doc. no. 1110844); “Realismo e abstracionismo” (doc. no. 1110848); “A exposição de Carlos Bastos” (doc. no. 1110695); and on Mário Cravo Jr., “Surge um escultor” (doc. no. 1110701)].