Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848) was a renowned French, painter, draughtsman and lithographer, known for his significant contribution to the art and historical documentation of Brazil in the 19th century. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris and a student of Jacques-Louis David, he was initially known for his works celebrating Napoleon Bonaparte. However, his career reached a new level when he joined the French Artistic Mission to Brazil in 1816.

During the 15 years he spent in the country, Debret devoted himself to depicting the Brazilian landscape, indigenous customs, slavery, daily life and the events of the courts of Dom João VI and Dom Pedro I. His main work, “Picturesque and Historical Journey to Brazil”, published in three volumes between 1834 and 1839, combines lithographs and explanatory texts, revealing a detailed and artistic view of imperial Brazil and consolidating his legacy as one of the greatest visual chroniclers of Brazilian history.

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Biografia e as Obras de Jean-Baptiste Debret07:29

Livro de Debret - Viagem Pitoresca e Histórica ao Brasil01:30

Biography of Jean-Baptiste Debret

Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848) was a French painter, draughtsman and lithographer, best known for his documentation of life in Brazil between 1816 and 1831. He was one of the main members of the French Artistic Mission, a group of artists who came to Brazil at the invitation of Dom João VI.

The aim of the mission was to found the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and to promote artistic development in the country. During his stay, Debret captured scenes of Brazilian society, including cultural, social and historical aspects, which remain valuable references to this day.

1. Education and early career
2. Painter at Napoleon’s court
3. Transfer of the court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro.
4. French artistic mission
5. Painter at the Court of Dom João VI
6. Painter at the Court of Dom Pedro I
7. Book Picturesque and Historical Journey to Brazil
8. Works by Jean-Baptiste Debret

1. Education and early career

Jean-Baptiste Debret was born in Paris and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David, one of the greatest painters of French Neoclassicism.

Debret was involved in important events during the French Revolution, painting patriotic works and historical portraits. He also worked for Napoleon Bonaparte, creating imperial portraits and grandiose scenes celebrating the Napoleonic campaigns.

2. Painter of Napoleon’s court

In 1806, Debret began his works dedicated to the glory of Napoleon, commissioned by Vivant-Denon, director of the museums.

His works include Napoleon Honours Unfortunate Courage (1806), a canvas measuring 3.90m x 6.21m – which received an honourable mention from the Institut de France, Napoleon Decorates the Grenadier Lazareff at Tilsitt (1807) and Napoleon Addresses the Bavarian Troops (1810).

In 1814, with the fall of Napoleon, Debret lost his main financial backer.

Shortly afterwards, Debret received two offers, one from Tsar Alexander I, who invited him to work in St. Petersburg, and the other from Lebreton, who called him to join the French Artistic Mission in Brazil, at the request of Prince Regent D. João. João.

Deciding to take part in the French Mission, Debret left for Brazil.

3. Transfer of the Court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro

The French Artistic Mission was the forerunner of the Brazilian Academy of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1808, with the Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, the Portuguese Emperor Dom João VI moved the court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro.

The arrival of the Portuguese court in Brazil led to the recruitment of a group of French artists to organise an art academy along the lines of the French Academy.

The aim was to create the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts, which would bring a model of European culture, particularly French, to Brazil and train local artists and intellectuals. This initiative marked the transition from religious Baroque to secular Neoclassicism, in line with the political and social changes of the time, such as the opening of the ports, the promotion of industrial production, the creation of military academies, a national library and the introduction of the printing press.

Due to financial and political difficulties, the formalisation of the Royal School was delayed until 1820, and in 1824 it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, a title it retained until the fall of the Second Empire in 1889.

The artists of the French Artistic Mission mentored the first generation of academically trained Brazilian artists, such as Simplicio Rodrigues de Sá, Manoel de Araújo Pôrto Alegre and José Correia de Lima.

In particular, Jean-Baptiste Debret documented life in Brazil with his portraits of the royal family and coronation ceremonies.

After his return to France in 1820, his pupils continued his influence, with Dom Pedro I appointing Simplicio de Sá as court painter and Pôrto Alegre becoming the Academy‘s fifth director in 1854.

4. French artistic mission

In 1816 Debret left his country for Rio de Janeiro with the French Artistic Mission, a group invited by the Portuguese government.

In 1817, Maria Leopoldina of Habsburg-Lorraine (also known as Habsburg-Lorraine or Austria) arrived in Rio de Janeiro to marry Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. The bride and groom are pictured in the company of King João VI of Portugal.

The French Mission group included such notable figures as the landscape painter Nicolas Antoine Taunay (1755-1830); the sculptor Auguste Marie Taunay (1768-1824); the architect Auguste Henri Victor Grandjean De Montigny (1776-1850); the engraver Charles S. Pradier (1768-1848); the composer Sigismund Neukomm (1778-1858); and the mechanical expert François Ovide.

Although Debret was known as a historical painter, his first works in Brazil included portraits of the royal family and decorative paintings for public events and the Teatro Real São João in Rio de Janeiro.

The creation of the Brazilian Academy of Fine Arts took ten years, during which the members of the French mission had to teach. During this time, Debret taught in a private house.

Debret‘s most famous work is a series of drawings depicting Brazilian life and culture, published in three volumes between 1834 and 1839 under the title Voyage pittoresque et historique au Brésil.

These drawings and their explanatory texts are considered valuable records of everyday life in Brazil in the first decades of the 19th century.

Following what he called a “logical order”, Debret begins his book with descriptions of various Indian tribes.

Although he did not travel beyond Rio de Janeiro, Debret obtained information from other travellers to describe the life of the Indians in the Brazilian interior.

Debret portrayed the life of the slaves in Rio de Janeiro in an incomparable way, and his drawings shocked the members of the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute with their striking realism.

As a history painter, Debret also depicted historical events from the late colonial period:

• the landing of Her Royal Highness Princess Leopoldina in Rio de Janeiro
• The coronation of King João VI and the christening of Princess Maria da Glória.
• The swearing in of the Constitution and the coronation of Pedro I as Emperor of Brazil.

5. Court painter to King João VI

Jean-Baptiste Debret later became the official painter of the Empire. He made portraits of the royal family and was for many years the stage designer of the Royal Theatre of São João.

He painted historical pictures and engravings showing the customs and people of Rio de Janeiro at that time.

6. Court painter to Dom Pedro I

In 1821, when Dom João VI returned to Portugal, Jean-Baptiste Debret served Dom Pedro I, from whom he received the Commendation of the Order of Christ. In 1829 and 1830, the first two art exhibitions were held in Brazil.

In 1831, with the abdication of Dom Pedro I, Debret returned to France after 15 years in Brazil, taking with him Manuel de Araújo Porto Alegre to perfect his art in Paris.

The 350 originals of Debret’s engravings made in Brazil are kept in the Castro Maia Foundation in Rio de Janeiro. The oil paintings are in the National Museum of Fine Arts, also in Rio de Janeiro.

7 Book Picturesque and Historical Journey to Brazil

Between 1834, 1835 and 1839, Jean-Baptiste Debret published his monumental work, “Picturesque and Historical Journey to Brazil”, in three volumes. In the first volume he describes the indigenous culture. In the second volume, he focuses on the relationship between whites and slaves. In the third volume, Debret focuses on the court and popular traditions, always accompanied by explanatory texts that enrich the illustrations and the historical context.

8. Works by Jean-Baptiste Debret

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