Grupo de Meninas Brincando 1940

Candido Portinari painted “Grupo de Meninas Brincando” - or “Group of Girls Playing” - sometime in the mid-20th century, using oil on canvas. The canvas is this kind of gritty greyish colour with hints of other colours beneath, and on top of that there are these figures that are caught in the act of playing, or dancing, or both. I love the way the figures are all kind of grey-ish white, but the artist has still used these small, bright specks of colour, like little fireworks, to bring the scene to life. Those spots are on the girl’s dresses, on the kite that’s floating in the air, and on the ground. Look at the girl with the umbrella - her face has this very serious look, which I think is really interesting, because she's right in the middle of a game. The paint looks really thin and washy and loose, which gives the whole painting a kind of dreamlike feel. Portinari’s style reminds me a bit of Kathe Kollwitz, another artist who was interested in depicting working-class life. Art is about seeing the world in new ways and sharing those visions with others.