Brazil Slide Series: Collection Modern Brazilian Painting, Slide No. 0028.

Teaching ResourceTeaching Resource28. O homem amarelo (The Yellow Man), 1917. This painting by Anita Malfatti was shown in São Paulo in 1917 in an exhibit that became a catalyst for the Modernist movement. Painted in the same Expressionist style-with its geometric formal simplifications and expressive deformations of color-that Segall had shown earlier in Brazil without reaction, Malfatti's work was harshly denounced by conservative critics in the press. ln response, the Modernist group was galvanized into action that culminated in the Semana de arte moderna (Week of Modern Art), the iconoclastic program of music, literature, and art that introduced modern art on a larger scale than had previously occurred in Brazil and gave recognition and momentum to their movement