Anita Malfatti - Evolution of Painting

Evolution of Painting

Anita Malfatti's style of painting has been criticized for not evolving artistically after her initial shocking reintroduction to Brazil's artistic vision. Although Lucie-Smith is quite harsh saying that none of her works after "The Idiot" are of any importance, it is relevant to say that her style became much more toned down and "respectable" than it previously was. Malfatti's exhibition in 1915-16 was even a toned-down version of what her artistic style was. Although she did not exhibit any of her nude pieces in her exhibition her style was still seen as extremely avant-garde. Her changing style can be well explained through a comparison of pieces throughout her career. "The Idiot" is her most famously influential piece and will be compared to a piece from the 1940s "O Canal e a Ponta," a much less controversial style and subject matter.

"The Idiot" is a perfect, and her most famous, example of this. Her color palatte with "The Idiot" is extremely vivid and striking. Malfatti makes great use of primary colors, and she outlines her subject in black which clearly defines the shape of the chair and the woman, but which leaves the background indiscernible as to exactly what it is representing. The brush-strokes are large and imperfect as well and do not lend a solid feeling of spacial organization to the painting. Instead, the woman and the background seem to exist on the same plane, only being separated by color movement and shapes. The subject of a woman seated on a chair is nothing remarkable in the art world, but the subject title of the piece as well as the striking upward glance of the woman's eyes explains how it would be shocking to a conservative Brazilian culture. Not only is Malfatti painting an (as it would seem) underbelly representation of society, but she is doing so at a time when society was searching for a "Brazilian" style. All of a sudden it becomes uncertain what Malfatti is representing of Brazil.

However influential Malfatti's debut into the Modernist art scene was in Brazil, her later pieces of work seem to revert back to an older and more serene style. No longer are her pieces shocking or with as intense of a mixture of Cubism and Impressionism. Her painting "O Canal e a Ponta" done in the 1940s is not nearly as stunning in style or character as "The Idiot." The brush-strokes are much smaller and identical in relation to one another. They all go in the same direction, merely seen as a transitory means for color to be expressed. Malfatti's color palatte is much less stunning as well. Although the colors in the painting are still lovely, they lack the vivid contrast which makes "The Idiot" so memorable. Instead of playing off of opposite colors, "O Canal e a Ponta" is one swell of deep shades that vary slightly from light reflections. The painting is still beautiful, it is simply much more traditional. The style is much more reminiscent of a toned down expressionism and does not utilise any qualities of Cubism which made her first pieces so planarly abstract. Even the subject matter is much more traditional and "European." It is a very tranquil setting of a bridge over a river with two trees on its sides a set of houses down the way and a serene sky. It is very harmonious but lacking in zest which would make her painting unique.

Malfatti is thought to have been rather discouraged from her reception of her highly debated exposition and so it would make sense that she would try to please her audience. However, at the same time, other artists such as Tarsila do Amaral were becoming highly evolved in their search for the Brazilian identity and culture. Although Malfatti's courage and formally trained style introduced a new development to Brazilians, she almost sacrificed her artistic career simply to pave the path for other artists to forge ahead. However she will always be celebrated as the artist who brought Modernism to Brazil and, as that is no small feat, her impact is legendary.