Skip to main content

Brazil protests: Artwork suffers damage beyond repair

Brazil protests: Artwork suffers damage beyond repair

A vandalized painting depicting a political figure lies on a room at the National CongressGETTY IMAGES
A vandalised painting depicting a political figure lies on a room at the National Congress

When thousands of rioters ransacked Brazil's monumental government buildings on Sunday, political leaders condemned the grave attack on the country's democratic fabric.

In waves of green and yellow, thousands of far-right supporters of Brazil's ex-leader, Jair Bolsonaro, wreaked havoc on Congress, the Supreme Court and Presidential Palace in Brasilia, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.

But the three buildings also held a rich collection of art, some of which suffered irreparable damage. The government has mourned the loss of key parts of the artistic collection, which it said represents an important chapter in its national history.

"The value of what was destroyed is incalculable because of the history it represents. The collection is a representation of all the presidents who represented the Brazilian people during this long period that begins with JK. This is its historical value", the Director of Curatorship of the Presidential Palaces, Rogério Carvalho, said.


As mulatas, a painting by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, was found punctured in seven places. The government said it was worth at least 8 million reais (£1.2; $1.5m).

Bandeira do Brasil, by Jorge Eduardo

Bandeira do Brasil, a painting of the flag of Brazil, was displayed on the ground floor of the presidential palace. The artwork was found soaked in water after rioters had flooded the floor using fire hydrants.

O Flautista,by Bruno Giorgi

The bronze sculpture, valued at 250,000 reais, was destroyed, with pieces of it strewn throughout the third floor's hall of the presidential palace.

Wooden sculptures by Frans Krajcberg

Protesters broke this piece's wooden branches and threw them away. The piece is estimated at 300,000 reais.

Work desk used by President Juscelino Kubitscheck (1955-1960), the Brazilian leader who ordered the construction of Brasilia

The government said the table was used as a barricade by the rioters. An assessment of its general condition is yet to be made.

Showcase table by Sérgio Rodrigues

The glass window of display, which held information about the acting president, was smashed.

Balthazar Martinot clock

The 17th-Century grandfather by Balthazar Martinot (1636-1714) - Louis XIV's watchmaker - was a gift from France to King Dom Joao IV, who ruled Brazil and Portugal.

View the original tweet on Twitter

There are only two timepieces by Martinot like this in the world, according to the Brazilian government.

"The other is on display at the Palace of Versailles, but is half the size of the piece that was completely destroyed by the invaders", the government said in a statement.

An art specialist said the damage was beyond repair.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flood In india

 India has a long history of experiencing floods, with various regions being prone to annual monsoon flooding. Flooding in India can be attributed to a combination of factors such as heavy rainfall, inadequate drainage systems, deforestation, urbanization, and poor infrastructure in flood-prone areas. These factors often contribute to devastating consequences for the affected communities and the country as a whole. The monsoon season, which typically occurs from June to September, brings heavy rainfall across different parts of India. While the monsoons are vital for agricultural productivity, excessive or poorly distributed rainfall can lead to flash floods and riverine flooding. The states of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala are among the most flood-prone regions in the country. Floods in India have severe impacts on human lives, infrastructure, and the economy. Thousands of people are displaced each year, losing their homes, livelihoods, and even their lives....
Post a Comment
Read more

Solving Rubik’s Cube with a Robot Hand

  Human hands let us solve a wide variety of tasks. For the past 60 years of robotics, hard tasks which humans accomplish with their fixed pair of hands have required designing a custom robot for   each task . As an alternative, people have spent   many decades trying to use general-purpose robotic hardware , but with limited success due to their high degrees of freedom. In particular, the hardware we use here is not new—the robot hand we use has been around for the last 15 years—but the software approach is. Since May 2017, we’ve been trying to train a human-like robotic hand to solve the  Rubik’s Cube . We set this goal because we believe that successful training such a robotic hand to do complex manipulation tasks lays the foundation for general-purpose robots. We solved the Rubik’s Cube in simulation in July 2017. But as of July 2018, we could only  manipulate a block  on the robot. Now, we’ve reached our initial goal.
Post a Comment
Read more

Makiivka: Russia blames missile attack on soldiers' mobile phone use

  Russia has said a new year missile attack that killed at least 89 Russian soldiers happened because troops were using mobile phones, defying a ban. Turning on the phones and massive use of them allowed the enemy to locate its target, officials said. Ukraine says 400 soldiers were killed - and another 300 wounded - in the attack on a college for conscripts in Makiivka, in the occupied Donetsk area. It is the largest number of deaths Russia has acknowledged in the war. Russia said that at 00:01 Moscow time on New Year's Day, six rockets were fired from a US-made Himars rocket system at a vocational college, two of which were shot down. Moments earlier President Vladimir Putin had given his annual new year address on Russian TV. The deputy commander of the regiment, Lt Col Bachurin, was among those killed, the ministry of defence said in a statement on Wednesday. A commission was investigating the circumstances of the incident, the statement said. But it was "already obvious...
Post a Comment
Read more