Maria Leontina

Maria Leontina Mendes Franco da Costa (São Paulo, SP, 1917 - Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 1984) was a renowned Brazilian painter, printmaker, and draughtswoman. She began her drawing studies with Antônio Covello in São Paulo in 1938 and studied painting with Waldemar da Costa (1904-1982) in the early 1940s.

In 1946, in Rio de Janeiro, she attended Bruno Giorgi's (1905-1993) studio and took a museology course at the National Historical Museum (MHN) between 1946 and 1948. In 1947, she participated in the "19 Painters" exhibition at the Prestes Maia Gallery in São Paulo.

In 1951, she was invited by psychiatrist and art critic Osório César (1895-1983) to oversee the visual arts sector at the Juqueri Psychiatric Hospital. That same year, she organized an exhibition of the inmates' works at the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo (MAM/SP). In 1952, with a scholarship from the French government, she traveled to Europe with her husband, painter Milton Dacosta (1915-1988). In Paris, between 1952 and 1954, she attended Johnny Friedlaender's (1912-1992) printmaking studio.

In the 1960s, Maria Leontina created a tile panel for the Copan Building and stained glass windows for the Brazilian Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, both in São Paulo. Initially, her work was based on expressionist figurativism, but gradually transitioned to abstraction, without adhering to strict geometric principles. In 1960, she received the national award from the Guggenheim Foundation in New York, and in 1975, the painting award from the São Paulo Association of Art Critics (APCA).

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