Di Cavalcanti: the paper in the spotlight
Helouise Costa
Curator
Divisão de Pesquisa - Teoria e Crítica MAC USP
Di Cavalcanti began his artistic activities as a draftsman in 1914, having maintained his dedication to drawing throughout his artistic career. Paper was his preferential support for both free exercises and commissioned work that he carried out in parallel with his paintings. From a total of 564 of Di Cavalcanti's drawings in MAC USP collection, we selected a set of 41 for this exhibition, seeking to present some of the most characteristic aspects of his graphical production. The drawings are distributed in four modules, in non- chronological ordering.
Scenes and Brazilian characters show the artist's commitment to portray Brazil in its different socio-cultural aspects. The urban characters have a remarkable presence, materializing in a great diversity of types. The female figure could be included in this segment, but the option was to separate it because the theme is very important in Di Cavalcanti's work. In the Portraits, cartoons and caricatures set, we observe important characters of the cultural and artistic scene where the artist lived. Finally, it is possible to get more information about the commissioned works produced by the artist, among illustrations for books and magazines, projects of theatre scenarios and decorative panels.
Di Cavalcanti's drawings are products of an extremely versatile artist, able to respond to different demands. The great diversity of techniques he uses and style variations we see in his drawings reveal the vivacious artist's personality who consider the paper support as a place of freedom and experimentation for his art.
© 2017 Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo