Pé de jabuticaba 

Curator: We’re looking at “Pé de Jabuticaba,” an oil painting by Anita Malfatti. Its date is unknown, but the artist is well known as a founder of Brazilian modernism. Editor: My first impression is one of earthiness, a certain pastoral charm rendered through visible brushstrokes and a limited palette. Curator: Exactly. Note the layering of paint—short, deliberate strokes that create a textured surface. Semiotically, the tree, central to the composition, acts as an anchor, its branching structure echoing throughout the tableau. Editor: Indeed. One immediately notices the thickness of the oil paint and how the artist builds up layers to achieve certain textures, like the bark of the jabuticaba tree or the canopy above, really drawing your eye across the surface. What I am thinking about, also, are the social dimensions of this, given that the jabuticaba is indigenous to Brazil; in what way did Malfatti employ local and available resources in her creation of this art? Curator: A vital consideration. In the foreground, figures interact—one seated, perhaps resting after work, the other holding a fruit. The lines, although gestural, serve to denote volume and the implied weight of the figures, anchoring them within the landscape. It really adheres to modernist principles of reduction and simplified forms. Editor: We must also ask about labor. In focusing on this everyday scene, it reflects a kind of making-visible, the artist foregrounding local life and Brazilian conditions. Were these ordinary citizens, and how does it play with power? Curator: That's fascinating. Her art provides, perhaps unconsciously, insight into modes of making, and perhaps also the artist’s status—her vantage point on such quotidian moments. Editor: Ultimately, it is a fascinating testament to modernism. Its roots are, quite literally, grounded in materials. Curator: Agreed. It is also, undeniable testament to formalism. A fascinating dance.