The first mass in Brazil, held on 26 April 1500, just four days after the Portuguese landed at Porto Seguro, was depicted by Victor Meirelles between 1859 and 1861, whilst the artist was living in Paris.

The painting was inspired by the letter written by Pero Vaz de Caminha to the King of Portugal, which is regarded as the most important historical document relating to the discovery of Brazil.

The work, which forms part of the National Museum of Fine Arts, has become one of the country’s most popular paintings.

A biography of Victor Meirelles and an analysis of the film “The First Mass in Brazil”

Victor Meirelles e a análise da obra "A Primeira Missa no Brasil" 

1. Biography
2. The Brazilian Indian and the Romantic Movement
3. Analysis of the Work “The First Mass in Brazil”
4. Imperial Academy of Fine Arts
5. Works by Victor Meirelles

1. Biography

• Birth and Education: Victor Meirelles was born in Lages, Santa Catarina, in 1832. From a young age, he showed an interest in painting and, with his family’s support, enrolled at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro in 1849. There, he studied under renowned artists and received guidance from Jean-Baptiste Debret and Gustave Roux.

• Career: Meirelles gained recognition for his large-scale works and his ability to capture historical scenes with precision. In 1852, he won a scholarship to travel to Europe, where he honed his techniques in Paris and studied the works of both classical and contemporary masters. His time in Europe had a significant influence on his artistic style.

• Contributions: On his return to Brazil, Meirelles became one of the country’s leading artists. He was appointed professor at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and played a key role in training new generations of artists. His work encompasses not only historical themes, but also portraits and scenes from everyday Brazilian life.

• Death: Victor Meirelles died in Rio de Janeiro in 1903. His legacy is widely recognised, and his works continue to be studied and admired for their historical and artistic significance.

The author and painter Victor Meirelles of “The First Mass in Brazil” was born in Desterro, now Florianópolis, the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, in August 1832, in the house that has now been converted into a museum and on the street that today bears his name.

We are all well aware of his early interest in learning the art of painting, a skill he began to develop whilst he was still a boy living on his native island.

This is why, before he had even turned 14, he was sent to Rio de Janeiro to join the student body of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, where he began a course of study that led to him being awarded the Prize for a Trip to Europe, to the leading artistic centres of the time, in Italy and France.

The painting “First Mass in Brazil”, considered a “masterpiece” in the history of Brazilian art, was produced in Paris during the artist’s long study trip (1853–1861) as a scholarship holder at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro.

Victor Meirelles was a humanist associated with Romanticism, a great researcher, an attentive observer, a scholar, dedicated, disciplined and unquestionably committed to his time. He was the first Brazilian to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris in 1861, where he represented his country with the painting “First Mass in Brazil”.

It is worth noting that, even whilst in Paris, Victor Meirelles was in constant contact with the teachers at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Brazil, particularly with Manuel de Araújo Porto Alegre.

Victor was thus fulfilling one of the requirements set by the country that was sponsoring his stay in France.

Although he studied under the masters of the First World, he remained under the tutelage and direction of the Academy in Brazil, and was therefore also subject to the ideas it promoted amongst the country’s political and cultural elite, including Emperor Pedro II and the IHGB group.

We therefore understand that it is primarily the culture of his country of origin that shapes his way of thinking and, consequently, his painting.

The “First Mass in Brazil” is the result of a complex web of connections between the ideas and utopias that developed within the so-called “Civilising Project”, which was present in the collective imagination of the cultural and political elite of 19th-century Brazil.

This project became more apparent, either directly or indirectly, with the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Rio de Janeiro in 1808, and was consolidated under the monarchies that followed (1822–1889).

With the arrival of the Court, Rio de Janeiro began to modernise, gradually shedding its colonial character.

A secular, worldly, courtly and aristocratic culture developed around her.

The Court enjoyed bullfights, jousting tournaments, plays, soirées and musicals.

It was against this backdrop that the country’s first art academy was established.

Due to political changes between Portugal and France, as part of a strategy to bring the two countries closer together, the idea arose to bring a French Artistic Mission to Brazil in 1816, with the aim of institutionalising arts education in Brazil.

This development was consolidated later, in 1826, with the establishment of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro.

The “First Mass in Brazil”, rather than being the isolated work of a single artist, is a visual synthesis of the “Civilising Project” of a nationalist nature associated with the Second Empire.

Therefore, to understand this painting, one must consider that context.

The country was establishing itself as an independent nation. There were plans to forge a national identity, and art was seen as a prime forum for reflecting on society and inventing a new identity.

The Fine Arts were an instrument of civilisation and glory, possessing the power to contribute to the education of peoples, with the capacity to influence reality directly.

The idea of art linked to education and civilisation was very much in keeping with the civilising project of the young nation, which had been independent since 1822.

To understand the context in which Victor Meirelles’s painting “First Mass in Brazil” emerged, amidst the problems of the Second Empire, it is also necessary to understand the issues surrounding the legitimisation of this “Civilising Project” on a broader international scale.

The tropical monarchy would have found it difficult to legitimise its power in the eyes of the world, which implies, amongst other things, the creation, display and widespread promotion of the symbols it devised.

Surrounded by republics, the Brazilian monarchical model faced obstacles to its recognition, both from other American nations and due to the difficulty of communicating with European countries.

It is important to consider the internal efforts to dissociate Brazil’s image from the notion of anarchy, associated with a persistent slave-owning system upon which Brazilian society and the economy were built.

From the very first years of independence, there was a clear effort to promote and establish an image that was both familiar and distinctive in this distant empire.

There was no clear understanding of the difficulties involved in adapting models imported from countries such as France to Brazil, a country still in the process of development.

Brazil was a society that was culturally and artistically rather simple, whose intellectual elite, captivated by European culture, failed to realise just how problematic it was for that culture to take root and develop freely in a society that was still in its formative stages.

There are certainly no quick and easy answers when it comes to understanding this period.

We might find food for thought in the hypothesis that the country was seeking to establish itself by following models it was already familiar with and recognised as being more advanced.

On the other hand, there was a pressing question amongst the ideas of civilisation, a question that has continued to inspire national cultural and artistic movements throughout history: after all, what is Brazilian?

Throughout the 19th century, there was a widespread desire to assert oneself in the face of the capitalist world: to be modern, to join the march of progress, to become a great nation, and to dispel the image of tropical exoticism associated with backwardness and inertia.

To understand why, in times of change, certain symbols endure whilst others do not, we must consider not only their creation but also their dissemination—that is, the consumption of these symbols.

Dom Pedro II, the first monarch born in Brazil, was emperor from 1840 to 1889 and became the principal patron of the Romantic movement.

It is in this iconography that the use of symbolism characteristic of this monarchy is most evident, marked by signs of a dialogue with the external (European) reality, whilst nevertheless highlighting distinctive local (national) characteristics.

A prolific producer of imagery, the Brazilian Empire distinguished itself in its role as a creator of national icons, including anthems, medals, emblems, mottos and coats of arms, amongst which the “First Mass in Brazil” can be counted as part of the official iconography.

2. The Brazilian Indian and the Romantic Movement

It is within the Romantic literary movement that we see the figure of the indigenous person taking shape from 1826 onwards, when the Frenchman Ferdinand Diniz, a consular official, drew the attention of Brazilians to the need to replace classical trends with local characteristics.

It advocated a depiction of nature and customs in which the indigenous people were to be valued as the first and most authentic inhabitants of Brazil.

The Romantic writers socialised with historians from the IHGB and with the teachers and directors of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, including Manoel de Araújo Porto Alegre, who played a key role in the creation of the painting “First Mass in Brazil”.

It was during the 1850s and 1860s that Brazil witnessed the rise of Romanticism, whose most genuinely national manifestation, Indianism, found its most prestigious expression there, extending beyond poetry and the novel to encompass music and painting.

Indianists were gaining popularity through their romantic portrayal of the Indian as a national symbol.

Thus, the history of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and the work of its students cannot be separated from the broader significance of the Empire.

This story has yet to be told in greater detail, particularly with regard to the existence of a civilising project linked to the building of the state and the nation.

3. Analysis of the work “The First Mass in Brazil”

“The First Mass in Brazil” is one of Victor Meirelles’s most iconic works and one of the most significant depictions of Brazil’s colonial history.

Historical Context: The painting depicts the historic moment of the first Mass celebrated in Brazil by Portuguese priests in 1500, upon the arrival of Pedro Álvares Cabral in the territory that is now Brazil. The event is often associated with the symbolic foundation of the Christian and Portuguese presence on the new continent.

Description of the Work

• Composition: The work is a large-scale oil painting. It depicts the religious ceremony in great detail and with great drama. At the centre of the scene is Father Henrique de Coimbra, who is presiding over Mass, surrounded by other priests and members of the Portuguese expedition.
• Colours and Style: Meirelles uses a vibrant, richly detailed palette to capture the exuberance of the tropical setting and the religious ritual. The neoclassical style, characteristic of his training, is evident in the precision and dignity of the figures.
• Cultural and Historical Elements: The painting features indigenous elements and an exotic landscape, depicting the cultural clash and the initial interaction between the Europeans and the native inhabitants. The inclusion of details such as clothing and religious objects emphasises the significance of the event.

Impact and Significance

• Background: The work not only commemorates a pivotal moment in Brazil’s history, but also reflects the nationalism and the search for a national identity during the 19th century. Meirelles’ choice of this theme demonstrates his commitment to Brazilian history and cultural identity.
• Artistic: “The First Mass in Brazil” is regarded as one of Meirelles’s greatest achievements, demonstrating his skill in creating dramatic and detailed historical scenes. The work is a landmark in Brazilian academic painting and remains an important reference for the study of Brazilian art and history.

A symbolic image of Brazilian culture, the “First Mass in Brazil”, along with its numerous preparatory studies, is now part of the collections of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro, under catalogue number 901.

The painting “The First Mass in Brazil” was produced during the Empire of King Pedro II, in France, between 1859 and 1860, arriving in Brazil in 1861.

It is this environment that I intend to begin reconstructing, aware that understanding the spirit of Brazil during the Second Empire is no easy task.

Where might one look for common elements that explain the emergence of a body of images and icons such as that of the “First Mass in Brazil” within this context?

Among other things, there was a need to create and disseminate icons.

The “First Mass in Brazil”, one of these iconic works, is undoubtedly one of the most important masterpieces of Brazilian painting of all time!

Masterpieces encapsulate the sensibilities of an era and fully express its trends and ideals.

Whilst they embody the values of a community, they are inconceivable without that community.

In it, the artist achieved more than any single individual could have done: he drew on the insights and achievements of others, bringing them together in a new way, which enabled him to speak on behalf of an entire generation.

This image, alongside other national emblems and symbols, has helped shape the idea we have of ourselves as Brazilians, an idea that belongs to the mythical, silent and invisible realm of the Founding Myth of Brazil.

Created by the European conquerors and appropriated by Brazilian Romanticism, this age-old myth continues to be constantly reinvented amongst us.

It is also important to highlight the role of the “First Mass in Brazil” in shaping perceptions of the “Discovery” and of Brazilian identity linked to Catholicism and the sense of conversion that Portuguese navigation brought with it, which underscores the importance of this painting in shaping our cultural imagination.

4. Imperial Academy of Fine Arts

Regarded as a key factor in the systematisation of arts education in Brazil, the French Artistic Mission arrived in the country in March 1816, at the invitation and through the arrangements of the Portuguese Court in Brazil.

It was made up of a group of artists and master craftsmen, almost all of whom were former Bonapartists who had come to introduce the academic teaching of the arts and crafts in the Brazil of King João VI.

The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts was the destination for artistic talents from Brazil’s provinces, such as Manuel de Araújo from Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul; Victor Meirelles de Lima, from Santa Catarina; Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo, from Paraíba; José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, from São Paulo, amongst others.

The works of these artists reflect the academic spirit of the time, drawing on classical idealism and the masters established by the academies of Rome and Paris.

Emperor Pedro II maintained contact with the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts throughout his long reign.

Adopting a policy similar to that of the IHGB, the Emperor began to award prizes, medals, scholarships for study abroad and funding, as well as regularly attending the General Exhibitions of Fine Arts, held annually, or presenting insignia of the Orders of Christ and the Rose to the most distinguished artists.

In 1845, King Pedro began to fund the Travel Grant, awarded annually, which financed studies abroad for students from the Academy.

The Emperor was awarded the title of Founder and Perpetual Patron of the Imperial Academy; protecting the Academy and its artists was also a way of ensuring the production of official iconography.

From the Academy and its artists, in addition to the painting “The First Mass in Brazil”, came the countless portraits and scenes depicting family life and the power of the Royal Family that still illustrate our history today.

Historical painting was the most highly regarded genre at the Academy in the mid-19th century. As Jorge Coli (1998: 117) clearly explains.

Meirelles has achieved that rare convergence of form, intention and meaning that allows a painting to make a powerful impact within a culture.

This image of the discovery is unlikely ever to be erased or replaced. It is the first mass in Brazil.

It is the power of art that shapes history.

The model of art education that Brazil imported was the only one currently in use in its country of origin at the time it was imported into Brazil.

Therefore, the Neoclassical style, through which the artists of the French Artistic Mission expressed themselves when they came here to set up our first art school, was the avant-garde style of the time.

The development of Brazilian painting began to gain momentum from 1840 onwards, the year in which the first General Exhibition of Fine Arts was held.

It was against this backdrop that the artist Victor Meirelles de Lima, the son of Portuguese immigrants from the town of Desterro—now known as Florianópolis—appeared amongst the students in 1847.

Whilst the Academy taught them the traditional grammar of the visual arts, they came from a society with no tradition of expressing itself through the highbrow forms of the Academy; there, guided more by intuition than by formal training, they began to view with suspicion the repetition of mythological and biblical scenes provided by the teaching models.

The teachers at the Academy of Fine Arts and the country’s government officials were waiting for new talent to emerge.

The Emperor followed everything very closely; indeed, to show his support, he became honorary president of the IHGB.

Ever since he was a boy, at the age of 14, he had been following everything closely.

Before Victor Meirelles, the Academy had sent other artists to Europe on scholarships, but they produced little and returned soon afterwards.

The first person who actually appears in the documents and who was aware of what was happening is the painter Victor Meirelles.

He went to Europe and fulfilled the requirements of the Imperial Academy in Brazil, carrying out the duties expected of him.

Whilst the other artists would send in a sketch or two, Victor Meirelles would send in ten or twenty.

So the Emperor and the intellectuals at the Academy felt they had found the artist they were looking for. And that is why Victor Meirelles was granted an extension of his scholarship for eight years.

The standard term was only three years.

Whilst Victor Meirelles was in France, the director of the Academy in Brazil worked in close collaboration with Emperor Pedro II.

They held a weekly meeting, during which they discussed their students’ academic progress and other matters.

Once he had completed the first draft of “Missa”, Victor Meirelles sent it to the Academy in Brazil.

The cultural elite wanted to create this kind of image so that it would remain in the country’s cultural memory.

Consequently, once the sketch for the “First Mass in Brazil” had been accepted, the painter was granted funding to cover a further two years’ stay in France and the costs of producing the work.

In Paris, he was assisted by Ferdinand Denis, a man who had lived in Brazil during the reign of King João VI, who loved living there and remained a Brazil enthusiast for the rest of his life.

He was then the director of the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, which still exists today in Paris.

It was at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève that Victor Meirelles examined the documents on the indigenous peoples and on Brazil, and where he also found the letter from Pero Vaz de Caminha, which had been discovered shortly before.

Victor Meirelles studied the letter intently in order to portray the mass described by Caminha.

Rather than being the product of a single artist’s isolated mind, the “First Mass in Brazil” is a visual synthesis of the civilising project of a nationalist nature associated with the Brazilian Second Empire, and Victor Meirelles de Lima was the man who gave concrete form to the ideas of this project through his paintings.

Whilst, on the one hand, the artist depicted aspects of Brazil’s political and cultural landscape in the mid-19th century, brought to life through the precision of the artistic techniques he had learnt at the art academies he attended and through his fidelity to historical painting itself, on the other hand, he had ‘assistants’ who were so closely involved that we might call them ‘other hands’.

Among these, the most notable was that of Manoel de Araújo Porto Alegre. A nationalist, he was also a pupil of Debret at the Imperial Academy in the period leading up to Brazil’s independence.

He was a teacher and headmaster at the Imperial Academy during the period when Victor Meirelles left for Europe.

She exchanged a curious correspondence with the artist, in which she gave him detailed guidance on his studies. She spoke on behalf of the Emperor and the Academic Council.

Although not all of their correspondence has been published, from what is available we can see that this exchange of ideas took place not only in an academic context, but also in an atmosphere of trust, understanding and encouragement.

It was there that Victor was taught how to compose his first major original work.

As state pensioners, the artists awarded the Travel Grant were subject to strict regulations, under which they were required to fulfil a range of tasks and obligations, thereby ensuring the success and continuation of the grant.

These tasks included the regular shipment of works produced abroad.

The creation of these works of art was determined by the School’s Congregation in Brazil. To ensure that this symbolic framework was maintained, no deviation from this doctrinal line was permitted, on pain of immediate suspension of funding for their stay abroad.

Following instructions from Porto Alegre, Victor Meirelles set off for his first stay in Italy, before moving on to France, where he studied under Leon Cogniet, a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

In the 19th century, this school was a highly prestigious institution, regarded as the successor to the Imperial Academy, founded in 1684, in order to protect the artistic elite of France by freeing them from the tyrannical rules imposed on them by the guilds of craftsmen – the Guilds.

Victor Meirelles also produced his “First Mass” in accordance with the exacting standards of the jury at the Salon Officiel de Paris in 1861, in which he took part.

In addition to studying Pero Vaz Caminha’s letter and following Manuel de Araújo Porto Alegre’s detailed guidance, there is another important factor to consider regarding the creation of the work in question: Victor Meirelles drew inspiration for the main scene of his work from another painting, that of the French painter Horace Vernet (1789–1863).

The painting of the Mass by Vernet is entitled “Première messe en Kabyli” (1853), bearing in mind that the use of allusions is entirely legitimate within the genre of Historical Painting.

The lack of familiarity with the conventions of historical painting among Brazilian art critics caused a great deal of controversy when the painting arrived in Brazil, and Victor Meirelles was even accused of plagiarism.

There is also the possibility that the theme of the Mass was a recurring one at the time.

At the Granet Museum, in Provence, France, we find another painting entitled “Une messe au Louvre pendant la Terreur”, dated 1847, by Marius Granet (1775–1849).

The altar in the centre, with one priest raising the host and another kneeling and holding his vestments, is reminiscent of the key scene in Victor Meirelles’ “Missa”.

This approach would also have been considered legitimate within the aesthetic and cultural context of the art academies of the 19th century.

Art academies are a type of artistic institution that is little known and, perhaps for that very reason, little appreciated.

Surrounded by prejudice ever since the advent of modern art, they came to be dismissed simply as regressive institutions that stifled artistic freedom and imposed official standards of taste.

However, these institutions were established to meet certain needs of the time, including those of artists, who were then subject to the Guilds – corporations steeped in medieval connotations and representing trades characterised as mechanical.

Brazilian academic painting of the 19th century was not exclusively Neoclassical, as is generally acknowledged, as it was influenced by French academic Romanticism, better known as “Pompierism”.

Described by the historian Jorge Coli as “the right form” to achieve the enduring power inherent in the work, the appropriate formal means could only have resulted from Historical Painting.

The origins of this genre can be traced back to the painting curriculum of the art academies.

On these points, Reyero (1989:16) states:

Students were required to take part in competitions in which the judges decided each year which piece each participant would have to perform. The history piece was, therefore, the result of a rigorous academic exercise that only a few managed to pass.

The First Mass in Brazil also refers to the presence of the Brazilian Founding Myth, which was ideologically appropriated by Brazilian Romanticism, which contributes to the construction of our identity as members of a nation, creating contradictory truths about who we are and what others think of us.

Utopias that have their roots in the distant past, dating back to the Renaissance and the imagination of explorers, and which reappear ideologically in the images produced by artists in the 19th century.

Abandoned and shunned by the Republicans, Victor Meirelles died in poverty in 1903 in Rio de Janeiro.

If, throughout history, there have been men and women who have devoted themselves to creating icons for their people, Victor was one such figure in his time; and if he did so, it was because he was shaped by a unique and specific cultural and historical context.

Victor is undoubtedly one of the leading figures in Brazilian art.

We know, however, that his merits and worth were not always recognised. “It is, however, heartening to know that his hometown has never forgotten him, just as he never forgot his quiet, beautiful little corner of the world.”

5. Works by Victor Meirelles

A biography of Victor Meirelles and an analysis of the film “The First Mass in Brazil”

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