Pedro Américo between times

Abizag, Judite, Jocabed, Joana D’Arc e Margarida in 19th century canvases

Abstract

This article has as its motto the analysis of fine canvases of female characters painted by Pedro Américo in the last quarter of the 19th century. The pictorial presentations of five characters that evoke other historical temporalities were selected for the analysis: Judith, Abisag, Jocabed, Joan of Arc and Gretchen. For the composition of such figures, Pedro Américo manipulated times that were not his own, since it was used as a reference both texts and images of various periods. The analyses elaborated here intend to address the different times, first in which they are inserted chronologically, then in the excerpts in which they are cited, and finally, the periods in which they are evoked by the artist. Also, the influence of the artistic movement of Orientalism, as well as the Romantic and Neoclassical interventions in the paintings will be problematized. To this end, parallels and correlations will be delineated between the biblical-christian, historical-cultural and fictional interpretations of the characters, as well as the interference of the trips to Europe made by the artist.