This analysis of Farnese de Andrade’s art is based on close observation of works included in an exhibition at the Galeria São Paulo in 1985. The text forms part of a collection of reflections by Daibert from those years, published posthumously in the volume Cadernos de Escritos (1995), coordinated by Julio Castañón Guimarães.
Draftsman, printmaker, painter, and illustrator Arlindo Daibert (1952–93) first gained recognition in 1970 for fantastical drawings that employ a technique that places emphasis on detail. The artist envisions those strikingly refined compositions in terms of “the feminine.” Rich in eroticism and symbolism, his works establish a constant dialogue between image and text. Daibert contributed illustrations and poems to the literary and art supplements of newspapers such as Diário Mercantil. Exhibitions of series of his drawings on specific themes include Alicia no país das maravilhas (1978) and Macunaima de Andrade (1982) with illustrations of the 1926 masterpiece by Mário de Andrade. He participated in the Largo do Ó printmaking workshop in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais in 1984. That same year, he joined the art faculty at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais). Daibert died before completing O retrato do artista, which dealt with canonical works of art.
For a text by Daibert in which he defends “the feminine” in art, see “Sur la nature des femmes” [doc. no. 1111063].