Carybé

“CARYBÉ” HECTOR JULIO PÁRIDE CARYBÉ (Lanús, Argentina, 1911 – Salvador de Bahía, Brazil, 1997).
“Arrival of the Explorers in Bahia,” 1965.
Oil on Masonite.
It has an exhibition label on the back.
The frame shows signs of damage.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 77.5 x 98 cm; 110 x 88.5 cm (frame).
*The Arrival of the Explorers at Bahia* showcases the artistic universe of Carybé, one of the most significant artists in 20th-century Brazilian art. Created in 1965, the composition recreates the encounter between indigenous peoples and European explorers through a highly dynamic scene, in which indigenous people in canoes and along the water’s edge take center stage in a visual narrative that transcends the historical episode to become a celebration of Brazil’s identity and cultural richness. With an extraordinary ability to synthesize movement, color, and narrative, Carybé captures the vitality of the landscape and its inhabitants through a highly expressive visual language. The work reflects the artist’s deep fascination with folk traditions, Afro-Brazilian roots, and the cultural fusion that defined his entire body of work.
Born in Argentina as Héctor Julio Páride Bernabó, Carybé settled permanently in Brazil, a country whose citizenship he adopted and to which he dedicated his entire artistic career. A painter, printmaker, illustrator, sculptor, ceramicist, and muralist, he produced a vast body of work, becoming one of the great visual interpreters of Brazilian culture. His close relationship with the writer Jorge Amado and his deep knowledge of Candomblé—in which he became Obá de Xangô, an honorary title within this religious tradition—enriched an artistic language marked by humanism and ethnographic observation. His legacy lives on in major collections and institutions, including the Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador, Bahia—where his famous panels dedicated to the orixás are preserved—as well as in prominent international public spaces, such as the monumental murals installed at Miami International Airport. Furthermore, his work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions, including one organized by the Brazilian Embassy in Buenos Aires—the first dedicated to the artist in the Argentine capital following his death in 1997.