1886
SÃO BERNARDO FARM

Tarsila was born on September 1st in Capivari, state of São Paulo, and was the daughter of Lydia Dias de Aguiar do Amaral and José Estanislau do Amaral. She grew up on her father’s properties, notably São Bernardo and Sertão farms, in the interior of the state of São Paulo

1898
Tarsila (the taller one) and her sister Cecília.

Tarsila studied at Colégio Sion in São Paulo.

1902
Sacred Heart of Jesus

Tarsila studied at the school ‘Sacre – Coeur de Jésus’ in Barcelona, where she made her first painting, a copy of a Sagrado Coração de Jesus (Sacred Heart of Jesus).

1906
Picture of Dulce

Tarsila returned to Brazil and married André Teixeira Pinto. From this union was born Dulce, her only daughter.

1913
Picture of São Paulo in the 1910’s

Tarsila separated from her husband and went to live in the city of São Paulo.

1916
Angel (1949) – Seen to the right is a bronze casting of the original sculpture by Tarsila

Tarsila began her art and sculpture education, studying with Zadig and Mantovani.

1917
Meu Ateliê – Rua Vitória, 1918
(My Studio – Vitória Street)

Tarsila studied drawing and painting with Pedro Alexandrino.

1920
Autorretrato com vestido laranja
(Self-portrait with orange dress)

Tarsila also studied with Elpons.

1920
Tarsila and Dulce aboard ship, on a trip to Paris in 1920.

Tarsila departed to Paris, where she studied at Academie Julien, and with Emile Renard. She also took courses in freehand drawing. She brought along her daughter Dulce to study at a boarding school in London, England.

1920
Figura (Passaporte)
Figure (Passport), 1922
The painting Figura (Passaporte) was accepted at the “Salon Officiel dês Artistes Français.”

1922
Palácio das Indústrias
(Palace of Crafts) – São Paulo
In September, Tarsila had an exhibition at the Salão de Belas Artes de São Paulo (Hall of Fine Arts) , at the Palácio das Indústrias (Palace of Crafts).

1922
Lutetia, the ship on which Tarsila sailed to Europe in 1922
Tarsila returned to Europe in December.

1923
Tarsila and Oswald aboard ship
Tarsila took trips to Portugal and Spain, accompanied by Oswald. Their romance was still a secret, since Tarsila’s divorce had not yet been approved.

1923
The inspiration for The Negress was probably the painter’s beloved helper (shown in left photo)
She studied with André Lhote. Afterwards she met Blaise Cendrars, who introduced Tarsila and Oswald to the Parisian intelligentsia. She also studied with Albert Gleizes and with Fernand Léger. Tarsila showed the painting A Negra to Léger, who was impressed. This work gave Tarsila a place of prominence in the Brazilian art scene at the time.

1923
Picture of Tarsila on a trip to Italy in 1923
Tarsila took a trip to Italy with Oswald de Andrade.

1923
Tarsila
Tarsila returned to Brazil in December

1924
Carnaval em Madureira, 1924,
(Carnival in Madureira)
Painting from the Pau-Brasil phase of Tarsila
Cendrars came on a visit to Brazil. Tarsila, Oswald and a group of modernists took him to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and Holy Week in the historical cities of the state of Minas Gerais. Tarsila began her “Pau-Brasil” phase. At the “Conferência de Cendrars” (Cendrars’ Conference) in São Paulo, Tarsila presented the painting E.F.C.B. (Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil), or Central do Brasil Railroad, inspired on these trips.

1924
Book by Cendrars illustrated by Tarsila
Tarsila returned to Paris in September, and illustrated a book of poems by Cendrars, Feuilles de Route – I. Le Formose.

1925
Tarsila at her studio in São Paulo

Tarsila returned to Brazil in February. She prepared paintings for her Exhibition in Paris, scheduled for the following year.

1926
Page from Tarsila ‘s Travel Album. Included are pictures, store cards with autographs, hotel cards, and other memories.

Tarsila and Oswald took a trip with Dulce and Nonê (Oswald’s son) plus two other couples. They visited countries in Europe and the Middle East, such as Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Syria, among others.

1926
Picture of Tarsila’s First Solo Exhibition in Paris. She’s attired in a marvelous dress from fashion designer Paul Poiret, and standing next to her painting Morro da Favela (Hill of the Favela)

First Individual Exhibition from Tarsila in Paris, at the Galerie Percier.

1927
Tarsila and Oswald are resting on the porch at Santa Teresa Farm.

They spent a great part of that year at Santa Teresa do Alto Farm, which belonged to Tarsila.

1928
Abaporu, 1928
Tarsila painted Abaporu in January as a birthday present to Oswald. The painting served as inspiration for the Antropophagic Movement.

1928
Catalogue of Tarsila’s Exhibition in Paris - 1928
Back in Paris, Tarsila had her second Individual Exhibition in June, at the same Galerie Percier. In this Exhibition she included paintings from her Anthropophagic phase.

1929
Catalogue of Tarsila’s first solo Exhibition in Brazil in 1929.
Tarsila’s first solo Exhibition in Brazil, in July, at the Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Afterwards, this Exhibition took place in São Paulo

1929
Dr. Juca, father of Tarsila (the bearded gentleman), Lydia, her mother (leftmost), nephews and nieces, and their helper at the farm.
Tarsila’s first solo Exhibition in Brazil, in July, at the Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Afterwards, this Exhibition took place in São Paulo.

1930
Pinacoteca (Art Gallery), in the 1930’s.
Tarsila worked at the Pinacoteca (Art Gallery) of the state of São Paulo as Director. But with the fall of Júlio Prestes, she lost her job.

1930
In 1930, Oswald cheated on Tarsila with Patrícia Galvão. Tarsila did not accept the situation and separated from him.
Tarsila separated from Oswald.

1932
Osório Cesar, Tarsila’s beau, who took part in the Partido Comunista Brasileiro (Brazilian Communist Party)

Tarsila was jailed for a month, for taking part in Partido Comunista Brasileiro (Brazilian Communist Party) meetings, which was illegal at the time. Her relatioship with Osório Cesar ended shortly after this incident.

1933
Tarsila’s signature

In October, Tarsila held a Retrospective Exhibition at the Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro

1933
Luís Martins – picture

Tarsila started a romance with Luís Martins, who was more than twenty years younger than her.

1934
Catalogue of the 1o Salão Paulista de Belas Artes (First Paulista* Salon of Fine Arts)

Tarsila participated in the 1o Salão Paulista de Belas Artes (First Paulista * Salon of Fine Arts).

1936
Assis Chateaubriand

Tarsila started to work as a columnist at the Diários Associados newspaper, owned by her friend Assis Chateaubriand.

1938
Drawing of Tarsila’s farm, Santa Teresa do Also

Tarsila paid off the lien on her Santa Teresa do Alto farm.

1944
Segunda Classe
(Second Class)

Tarsila took part in the Exposição Coletiva (Collective Exhibition) in the city of Belo Horizonte.

1949
Beatriz, oil on canvas, 1963

Beatriz, Tarsila’s granddaughter from Tarsila’s only daughter, Dulce, drowned at the age of fifteen, when she tried to rescue her friend in a lake. Tarsila made this portrait based on a picture she had of Beatriz.

1950
Paisagem com Lavadeira, 1952
(Landscape with Washerwoman)

The work Fazenda marks the beginning of the Neo Pau-Brasil phase in Tarsila’s painting; she returned to the theme of Pau-Brasil, which originally started in 1924. In this phase, she also included rural landscapes and cubist compositions, as seen in Paisagem com Lavadeira.

1950
Catalogue of the Retrospective Exhibition - 1950
Tarsila had a Retrospective Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo, introduced by Sérgio Milliet.

1951
E.F.C.B., 1924, oil on canvas
Tarsila earned the Prêmio Aquisição (Acquisition Prize) for E.F.C.B., at the I Bienal de São Paulo (First Biennial Art Exhibition of São Paulo)..

1954
Procissão (Painel), 1954
Procession (Panel)
Tarsila painted the mural Procissão (Painel) at the Hall of History in Ibirapuera Park, in commemoration of the IV Centenário of São Paulo (Quadricentennial anniversary of São Paulo).

1963
Cartaz da VII Bienal de São Paulo (Poster of the VII Biennial of São Paulo)
Tarsila had a Special Hall at the VII Bienal de São Paulo (7th Biennial of São Paulo).

1964
Robert Rauschenberg received the Leão de Ouro (Golden Lion Award) at the XXXII Bienal de Veneza in 1964

Special Participation at the XXXII Bienal de Veneza.

1966
Lydia, Tarsila, Dulce and Beatriz.
(Pictured from bottom step, up).

Tarsila’s daughter Dulce passed away.

1967
Tarsila’s drawing

Tribute to Tarsila at the Galeria Tema de São Paulo (Tema Gallery in São Paulo)

1969
Catalogue of Tarsila’s 1969 Exhibition

Pictured here is the catalogue of Tarsila’s Retrospective Exhibition: Tarsila – 50 Years of Painting, which took place at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio (Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro). Afterwards, it was also held at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea (Museum of Contemporary Art ) in São Paulo, under the curatorship of professor Aracy Amaral.