Guignard

Alberto da Veiga Guignard (Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, 1896 - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 1962) was an influential Brazilian artist, professor, painter, engraver, and illustrator. In 1907, he moved to Europe with his family and studied at the Königliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich between 1917 and 1918 and from 1921 to 1923, under Hermann Groeber and Adolf Hengeler. He also spent time in Florence and Paris, participating in the Autumn Salon. He returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1929, integrating into the Brazilian cultural scene and establishing a studio in the Botanical Garden.

Guignard was highlighted as a revelation by Mário de Andrade during the Revolutionary Salon of 1931. From 1931 to 1943, he dedicated himself to teaching drawing and engraving at the Osório Foundation in Rio de Janeiro. Between 1940 and 1942, he lived in Itatiaia, where he painted the region and decorated areas of a local hotel. In 1941, he was a member of the Organizing Committee of the Modern Art Division of the National Salon of Fine Arts, alongside figures such as Oscar Niemeyer and Aníbal Machado.

In 1944, at the invitation of Juscelino Kubitschek, he moved to Belo Horizonte to teach and direct a painting course at the School of Fine Arts. Among his students were Amilcar de Castro, Farnese de Andrade, and Lygia Clark. Guignard remained at the helm of the school until his death in 1962, and the institution was renamed in his honor as Escola Guignard. His work is extensive and includes landscapes, portraits, and religious themes, marked by the delicacy of his stroke and emotional depth.

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