The Recife of Cícero Dias, 1929-1930

Abstract

Assuming that the artistic production of a given period can contribute to a richer and more complex understanding of that same period in the history of a city, this paper reflects on the representations of Recife made by the artist Cícero Dias (1907-2003) from the late 1920s and to the early 1930s. In this period, Dias produced a series of paintings that reveal fragments and details of the city, exploring the landscape and introducing everyday scenes with their elements and characters. These paintings revisit a past and purposefully forgets aspects of the present, creating dream landscapes. Was it an attempt to prevent the effects of progress which were transforming the image of Recife? What would drive this artist to desire to preserve what was threatened to disappear? To answer the questions, we sought to study the artist's trajectory by identifying his influences, the cultural context that allowed the process of modernization of the city. Therefore, we seek to understand what elements of the city the artist highlights, denies and / or resignifies in these paintings.