Oscar Niemeyer

OSCAR NIEMEYER (Rio de Janeiro, 1907 - 2012).
"Sketch for Santuario Arquidiocesano São Francisco de Assis, Pampulha Church".
Marker pen on paper.
Signed.
Measurements: 20 × 27.5 cm; 27 × 32 cm (frame).

The church of Pampulha, designed in the 1940s, was a landmark in modern Brazilian architecture for its bold use of reinforced concrete and its integration of architecture, art and landscape. In this project, Niemeyer does not seek a technical representation, but a direct evocation of architectural space, where the line acts as memory, idea and form. The author synthesizes with a quick and essential stroke one of the most emblematic works of his career.

Oscar Niemeyer is considered an essential figure of modern Brazilian architecture and, together with Lúcio Costa, one of the creators of Brasilia. He participated in key projects such as the Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Pavilion at the New York World's Fair and the UN headquarters, consolidating his international projection early on.

From 1956 onwards he developed some of the most emblematic buildings in Brasilia and, after the military dictatorship, he continued his intense activity with works such as the JK Memorial, the sambodromes of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the Latin American Memorial and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Niterói.