This text by José Valladares describes the Primeiro Salão Bahiano de Belas Artes, which the author deems a success due to its significant public repercussion. In Valladares’s view, the event marks the beginning of a new phase of art history in the state of Bahia. He praises the excellent facilities and mentions artists and works exhibited. The event, he clarifies, brings together “modern” and academic artists. He accurately points out that, in selecting works, the jury privileged aesthetic values while also taking into account the themes represented.

The Salão Bahiano de Artes Plásticas, which was launched in 1949, brought together “modernist” and academic works by artists from the Bahia region and the rest of Brazil. The event was sponsored by the government of the state of Bahia in its first act endorsing modern art. In this document, critic José Valladares, who was one of the salon’s organizers, shares his impressions of the event.

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 anjo azul”  (doc. no. 1110844); “Realismo e abstracionismo” (doc. no. 1110848); “A exposição de Carlos Bastos” (doc. no. 1110695); on Mário Cravo Jr., “Surge um escultor” (doc. no. 1110701); and on Poty Lazzarotto, “As gravuras de Poty” (doc. no. 1110846)].