Proto Language In Brazil

In 1928, Tarsila do Amaral painted Abaporu. The 33 × 29 in. oil painting immediately became the icons of the Latin American Modernism. In an auction sixty seven years later, it was acquired by the Argentine collector Eduardo Costantini for U$1.4 million, and it is currently displayed at the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). “Abaporu” in Tupi-Guarani, one of the most significant indigenous proto-language in Brazil, signifies “the man that eats people”; since “abá” stands for man, “poro” is people, and “'u” means to eat. The artist used formal elements of the Surrealism to show the discrepancy between the ideals of the European Surrealism and the reality in Brazil. More than that, she pointed
The painting inspired Andrade to write the Cannibalist Manifest (Manifesto Canibalismo) proposing the idea of devouring the European traditions and the regurgitating a real Brazilian visual and literary language, which founded the first Brazilian modernist movement, Movimento Antropofágico, translated sometimes as the Anthropophagite, sometimes as the Cannibale Movement (Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences). Although her Caucasian, elite background and the privilege of studying abroad, Amaral claimed more authority to use indigenous motifs than the European Primitivism. Therefore, the new Brazilian style emphases the anti-colonialism, nationalism and indigenous themes
Like surrealist paintings, Amaral’s works tends to convey fantastic scenes. Yet her work differs from the surrealistic by content. She also created a singular style by rendering sharp edged curved forms with smooth brushwork, as well as bright and saturated colors. In Abaporu, she emphasizes the yellow, green, blue and white of the Brazilian flag, which originally symbolizes the color of the royal family, however people later associate the colors with the richness of the natural resources (yellow), forests (green), sky and rivers (blue) and peace