Sante Scaldaferri

Sante Scaldaferri was born in Salvador, Bahia, in 1928. He is a renowned painter, printmaker, tapestry artist, actor, set designer, and professor. In 1957, he graduated in painting from the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). At the same institution, he studied encaustic technique with Rescála and took a printmaking course with Mario Cravo Júnior. Scaldaferri was instrumental in establishing artisan training centers in Salvador, linked to the Social Service of Commerce (Sesc), the Social Service of Industry (Sesi), and the Foundation for the Artistic and Cultural Heritage of Bahia.

During the 1950s, he worked as a set designer in cinema novo productions and as an actor in films by Glauber Rocha. Early in his artistic career, he focused on portraits and socially-themed paintings. From 1960 to 1964, he was the artistic assistant to architect Lina Bo Bardi and a teacher at the Children's School of the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia (MAM/BA). Scaldaferri also created several panels for public spaces in Salvador.

In 1997, he published the book The Early Days of Modern Art in Bahia through the Jorge Amado Foundation. In 2000, the video Sante Scaldaferri - The Dramaturgy of the Sertões, with photography by Mario Cravo Neto and direction by Walter Lima, was released. In 2001, the video Sante Scaldaferri: Erudite and Popular, directed by Maria Ester Rabello, was also released. In 2003, the Jorge Amado Foundation published the book Sante Scaldaferri: Drawings, further cementing his importance in the Brazilian art scene.

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