Herrmann Rudolf Wendroth

Last updated
Aventura com uma brasileira ("Adventure with a Brazilian Woman"), Wendroth's self-portrait in a woman's house. Wendroth - Aventura com uma brasileira.jpg
Aventura com uma brasileira ("Adventure with a Brazilian Woman"), Wendroth's self-portrait in a woman's house.

Herrmann Rudolf Wendroth was a German mercenary and amateur artist who went to Brazil in 1851 and left important visual documentation about the province of Rio Grande do Sul.

Contents

Life

Very little is known about his life. He was born in Mainz, and in 1851 was hired by the Brazilian government to fight in the Platine War. He arrived in Rio de Janeiro on the ship Hamburg and was incorporated into the German Legion that served in the south, whose members were known by the nickname brummers (the "grumblers"). Due to military urgencies, his transfer to Rio Grande do Sul was immediate, arriving around August 8 in Rio Grande, where he met Karl von Koseritz and was arrested for drunkenness, [1] soon leaving to Pelotas, where he was arrested again for rioting. [2]

Because of his lack of discipline, he did not go with his troops to the Uruguayan front. [1] Still, from his illustrations, he likely followed part of the German Legion's itinerary as far as Porto Alegre and Rio Pardo,. [3] By September 20, 1851, he had already disbanded from the Legion, moving on to a life as a wandering adventurer. [2] A while after he was in Lavras do Sul, where he lingered exploring for gold in the region's mines. [4] There he prepared a memorial on the geology and mineralogy of the land, which he forwarded to the president of the province. [5]

Wendroth went on a journey through various parts of the countryside, experiencing a series of adventures and difficulties. [2] Since his arrival, he showed through sketches, watercolors, and drawings the local populations, the urban landscapes, and the natural environment with its characteristic scenery, plants, and animals. [1] [3] He produced the most important set of visual documentation of the province in the mid-19th century and died at an unknown date and place. [4]

Works

Typical people of the province. Wendroth10.jpg
Typical people of the province.

Hermann had gone to Brazil in the hope of making a fortune, and it was in this sense that the collection of images was likely produced, as he intended to publish them for sale when he returned to Europe (it was fashionable at that time to publish albums and prints publicizing exotic, picturesque and distant places). [2] [3] This, however, did not happen: His works ended up in Argentina and in 1857 were in the possession of F. A. Buhlmann. He sent them in 1863 from Buenos Aires to Emperor Pedro II along with a letter in which he posed as the author, asking the Emperor to buy them at the price that suited him best and said that they were originally intended to be published in Germany but the idea could not be realized for lack of resources. It is possible that Wendroth died in Buenos Aires around these years. [1]

The works were effectively acquired by the Brazilian imperial family, remaining inaccessible for many years. [6] In 1939, the Inventário de Documentos da Casa Imperial do Brasil ("Inventory of Documents of the Imperial Household of Brazil") published by the National Library acknowledged the existence, in the Château d'Eu, of a bound album of watercolors mistakenly cataloged as being by Carlos Emil Buhlmann. The work was inherited by Prince Pedro Gastão de Orléans e Bragança, who settled in Brazil after World War II. In 1963, his secretary Guilherme Auler, while working on documentation related to Princess Isabel, found Buhlmann's letter and the album and notified Augusto Meyer, who was delighted with the material and called a commission to study it and arrange for its publication. In this process, it was verified, with the help of the Criminalistics Institute of Rio de Janeiro, that Wendroth's signature had been erased and Buhlmann placed his on top, thus establishing the true authorship of the images. General Bertoldo Klinger took charge of the cataloging, also performing the translation of the captions of the images and some short texts and poems attached. [1]

The Mother Church and Government Palace in Porto Alegre Wendroth07.jpg
The Mother Church and Government Palace in Porto Alegre
Virgin forest Wendroth - Vegetacao da mata virgem.jpg
Virgin forest

The publication, however, did not take place. In 1971, in an article in Revista Brasileira de Cultura, Hélio Vianna stated that Prince D. Pedro Gastão had lent the collection to Jaime Bastian Pinto to organize the publication, which also did not materialize. Finally, in 1982 the Riocell company made a partial publication with a presentation by Abeillard Barreto, produced as a year-end gift to its employees, [1] and the following year the state government published the complete collection in the album O Rio Grande do Sul em 1852: aquarelas por Herrmann Rudolf Wendroth. The issue was released to the public on March 8, 1983, along with an exhibition of the originals, being the event that inaugurated the Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana. [6] Since then, Wendroth's images have had a wide circulation, appearing in books, articles, and websites. [7]

Black in the pelourinho (a pillar erected in a public place, where criminals were exposed and punished). Wendroth - Preto chicoteando outro, crucificado em pelourinho.jpg
Black in the pelourinho (a pillar erected in a public place, where criminals were exposed and punished).

In 2020, an issue was published by the University of Lisbon's Center for Lusophone Literatures and Cultures in cooperation with the Rio-Grandense Library, with a text by Francisco das Neves Alves and Luiz Henrique Torres. For the authors: [2]

"Wendroth's work brought a fundamental constitutive element for a better understanding of the Rio Grande do Sul past - the image. [...] Just as nature and human constructions were part of Wendroth's work, the various facets of the social formation of the south were also present, showing the diverse human types that made up that society."

Examples are the gauchos , estancieros , tropeiros , and travelers, soldiers, indigenous people, slaves, and the varied urban population. [1] In Maria Angélica Zubaran's opinion, it is "an iconographic collection of rare cultural and documentary value on the natural and urban landscape and the uses and customs of the population of the state in the 19th century, and especially because it constitutes one of the rare visual records of Rio Grande do Sul in the second half of the 19th century." [3] For Júlio Bittencourt Francisco, it is "the vastest visual record of Rio Grande do Sul in the 19th century." [8]

His illustrations often reveal a satirical and jocular vein that is close to caricature, but did not fail to portray conflicting aspects of society, such as the gap between social classes, showing the different costumes, housing, and customs of the elite and the common people, and slavery, showing the blacks in their heavy work and the punishment they received. He also showed infrastructural problems of the province, such as the bad conditions of the port of Rio Grande and the precariousness of the means of transport and roads. In many images, the author becomes the protagonist of the scenes, illustrating the situations he went through, such as the time in jail, the hunting, the drinking, the incursions into the bush, a discussion with a priest, the activity as a prospector, the amorous gallantries. [9] For Luciana da Costa Oliveira, [1]

"The work of the artist-soldier has several nuances. When it is autobiographical, he often uses a more satirical and comic tone, and when he turns to landscapes, a watercolorist more concerned with detail and colors stand out. However, when his production turns to human types or scenes that, possibly, were different to him and that, for sure, caused him strangeness, the descriptive and, sometimes, classificatory aspect seems to be the predominant one. [...] Inserted in the context of nineteenth-century travels, he, like the other men who crossed the Atlantic in search of new species and stories, also behaved as a documentary artist because, like some of his contemporaries, he was a meticulous analyst and observer of particularities of the world."

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milonga (music)</span> Musical genre from the Río de la Plata

Milonga is a musical genre that originated in the Río de la Plata areas of Argentina, Uruguay, and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is considered a precursor of the tango.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riograndense Republic</span> Revolutionary state in 19th-century Brazil

The Riograndense Republic, often called the Piratini Republic, was a de facto state that seceded from the Empire of Brazil and roughly coincided with the present state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was proclaimed on 11 September 1836 by general Antônio de Sousa Neto as a direct consequence of the victory obtained by gaúcho oligarchic forces at the Battle of Seival (1836) during the Ragamuffin War (1835–1845). It had a constitution adopted in 1843 and was recognised only by the United Kingdom, France, and Uruguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itabirito</span> Municipality in Southeast, Brazil

Itabirito is a municipality in the Minas Gerais state of Brazil. Its population is estimated to have 52,446 people in 2020. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Ouro Preto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caturrita Formation</span> Rock formation in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The Caturrita Formation is a rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its sediments were deposited in the Paraná Basin. The formation is from the Upper Triassic and forms part of the Santa Maria Supersequence in the upper section of the Rosário do Sul Group.

<i>Independence or Death</i> (painting) Painting by Pedro Américo

The 1888 painting Independence or Death, also known as the Cry of Ipiranga is an oil on canvas painting by Pedro Américo, from 1888. It is the best known artwork representing the proclamation of the Brazilian independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1911 in Brazil</span> Brazil-related events during 1911

Events in the year 1911 in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1891 in Brazil</span> Brazil-related events during the year of 1891

Events in the year 1891 in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1890 in Brazil</span> Brazil-related events during the year of 1890

Events in the year 1890 in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1925 in Brazil</span> Brazil-related events during 1925

Events in the year 1925 in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1931 in Brazil</span> Brazil-related events during 1931

Events in the year 1931 in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1939 in Brazil</span> Brazil-related events during the year of 1939

Events in the year 1939 in Brazil.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Porto Alegre, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constituent Cortes of 1820</span> Portugals first modern parliament

The Constituent Cortes of 1820, formal title The General and Extraordinary Cortes of the Portuguese Nation, also frequently known as the Sovereign Congress or the Cortes Constituintes Vintistas, was the first modern Portuguese parliament. Created after the Liberal Revolution of 1820 to prepare a constitution for Portugal and its overseas territories, it used a different system from the traditional General Cortes for choosing representatives, and the three traditional feudal estates no longer sat separately. The Cortes sat between January 24, 1821 and November 4, 1822 at the Palácio das Necessidades in Lisbon. The work of the Constitutional Cortes culminated in the approval of the Portuguese Constitution of 1822.

The Republican Party of Rio Grande do Sul was a Brazilian political party founded on February 23, 1882. It was dissolved in 1937 due to the Estado Novo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor of Rio Grande do Sul</span> Head of Government of Rio Grande do Sul

The governor of Rio Grande do Sul is the head of government of the state's executive branch, assisted by his secretaries, whom he freely chooses. Elected by absolute majority in universal suffrage, together with the vice-governor, his term lasts four years; since 1997, reelection has been possible, and although all have sought it, none has succeeded. The current governor is Eduardo Leite, since January 1, 2023.

Miss Brazil 1999 was the 45th edition of the Miss Brazil pageant. It was held on 8 April 1999 at Scala Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil and was hosted by Deise Nunes. Michella Marchi of Mato Grosso do Sul crowned her successor Renata Fan of Rio Grande do Sul at the end of the event. Fan represented Brazil at the Miss Universe 1999 pageant. 1st Runner-Up, Paula Carvalho of Rio de Janeiro, represented Brazil at Miss World 1999 and 2nd Runner-Up, Alessandra Nascimento of Minas Gerais, represented the country at Miss International 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athos Damasceno Ferreira</span> 20th century Brazilian historian and writer

Athos Damasceno Ferreira was a Brazilian poet, novelist, chronicler, translator, journalist, literary critic, and historian. He is considered the most important historian and chronicler of the city of Porto Alegre, is the founder of art historiography in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and left a major contribution to the state historiography in the fields of culture and society, being a pioneer in the study of several themes. He was an advocate of the revaluation of regionalisms and a renowned poet and novelist, although being little remembered in this area.

Porongos Massacre or Porongos Betrayal was the penultimate confrontation of the Ragamuffin War (1835-1845) and occurred on November 14, 1844. The battle was primarily responsible for ending the longest of Brazil's revolutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic and Geographic Institute of Rio Grande do Sul</span> Brazilian organization

The Historic and Geographic Institute of Rio Grande do Sul, or IHGRGS, is a private non-profit institution based in Porto Alegre, and founded on August 5, 1920. Its main goal is to promote and spread the production of knowledge, especially focused on the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It went through several locations until it settled in the current building in Porto Alegre, inaugurated on March 25, 1972, which includes a research room, the Tomás Carlos Duarte Library, an archive room, the general library, the map library, and an auditorium with capacity for 150 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painting in Rio Grande do Sul</span> Artistic aspects of Rio Grande do Sul

Painting in Rio Grande do Sul, as an independent art, developed at the end of the 19th century. It originated in the port cities of Porto Alegre, Pelotas and Rio Grande. The first evidence of pictorial art in Rio Grande do Sul appeared as decoration for religious temples, public buildings and palaces.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Oliveira, Luciana da Costa (2017). Da imagem nascente à imagem consagrada: a construção da imagem do gaúcho pelos pincéis de Cesáreo Bernaldo de Quirós, Pedro Figari e Pedro Weingärtner (PhD) (in Portuguese). Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. pp. 199–228.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Alves & Torres (2020 , p. 289)
  3. 1 2 3 4 Zubaran, Maria Angélica. "A Iconografia de Viagem de Hermann Rudolph Wendroth sobre o Rio Grande do Sul Oitocentista". Textura (6–7): 45–65.
  4. 1 2 Lucchese, Alexandre (5 March 2020). "Antes e depois: o que restou do RS pintado por um viajante alemão nos anos 1850". Zero Hora (in Portuguese).
  5. Alves & Torres (2020 , p. 217)
  6. 1 2 "Aquarelas de Wendroth abrem novo espaço cultural". Assembleia Legislativa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (in Portuguese). 9 March 2000.
  7. Oliveira (2017 , p. 239)
  8. Júlio César Bittencourt, Francisco (2021). "O olhar do outro: narrativas de estrangeiros sobre Porto Alegre". Revista Entrelaces. 11 (23).
  9. Alves & Torres (2020 , pp. 48–63, 119–132)

Bibliography