Oscar Niemeyer

OSCAR NIEMEYER (Rio de Janeiro, 1907-2012).
"Sketches columns in Brasilia".
Felt-tip pen on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 20 x 29 cm; 33 x 42 cm (frame).

The "columns in Brasilia," the work of architect Oscar Niemeyer, are iconic elements that stand out in the Metropolitan Cathedral, with its 16 hyperbolic pillars that rise in the shape of hands stretched towards the sky.

Oscar Niemeyer is considered one of the founding architects of modern architecture in Brazil, as well as the founder of Brasilia, the new capital of Brazil, along with Lucio Costa. In 1936 he was commissioned, along with other architects, to design the Ministry of Education and Health building in Rio de Janeiro. At the invitation of Lucio Costa, he traveled to the United States in 1938 to participate in the project for the Brazilian Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. In 1947 he traveled again to New York, this time as a member of the International Committee of Architects in charge of developing the project for the United Nations Organization (UNO) headquarters. Undoubtedly the most ambitious project of Latin American architecture in the 20th century was the design and construction of Brasilia. Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer were, starting in 1956, in charge of carrying out the project. After the end of the military dictatorship, he returned to Brazil and continued his intense activity. During these years he carried out numerous works in his country, such as the JK Memorial, a museum dedicated to Juscelino Kubitschek in Brasilia (1980); the headquarters of the Manchete Television Network (1983); the sambadromes in the cities of Rio de Janeiro (1984) and São Paulo (1991); the Tancredo Neves Pantheon of the Homeland (1985), in Brasília; the Memorial of Latin America (1987), an immense eight-hectare civic center in São Paulo; or the Museum of Contemporary Art (1991), in Niteroi.
Source: Fernández, Tomás and Tamaro, Elena. "Biografia de Oscar Niemeyer." In Biografías y Vidas. The online biographical encyclopedia (internet). Barcelona, Spain, 2004. Available at https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/n/niemeyer.htm (last accessed March 28, 2023).