Damage to works of art in the headquarters of the powers of Brazil is “incalculable”

The radical Bolsonaristas who attacked on Sunday the headquarters of the Presidency, the Congress and the Supreme Court of Brazil caused damage to numerous works of art that were in the palaces, some irreparable, and whose value is “incalculable”, according to the balances disclosed this Monday.

From the monumental work “As mulatas”, by the Brazilian painter Di Cavalcante, to a pendulum clock that King John VI of Portugal received as a gift from the French monarch Louis XIV in the 18th century, they appear on the lists of works destroyed or damaged by the supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The damage was not limited to the works that decorated the halls of the Presidential Palace of Planalto, owner of one of the main collections of Brazilian modernist art in the country, but also to paintings, sculptures and historical furniture that were in Congress and the Supreme Court. Federal.

“The terrorists who invaded the Planalto Palace looted and destroyed an important part of the artistic and architectural heritage gathered there and that represents an important chapter of national history.”, according to a statement from the Presidency.

“The value of what was destroyed is incalculable due to the history it represents”, affirmed the director of Curatorship of the Presidential Palaces, Rogerio Carvalho, who considers it possible, although expensive, to recover most of the works.

Carvalho only considers “very difficult” the restoration of the clock that belonged to King John VI, whose author is the French watchmaker Balthazar Martinot and of whose productions only one other remains exhibited in the Palace of Versailles.

In addition to the damage to the artistic heritage, Bolsonaro’s followers, who are unaware of the victory of the progressive Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the October presidential elections and are calling for a coup to remove him, also caused architectural damage to the three buildings created by the Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer.

The enormous windows of the three palaces were completely destroyed and several columns and walls, in addition to having suffered blows, were vandalized with aerosol spray.

damaged works

According to a first partial balance of the Presidency, among the damaged works are “Bandeira do Brasil” (1995), by the Brazilian Jorge Eduardo, which was found floating in a puddle that flooded the first floor of the Presidency after the vandals left open the hydrants.

The painting “As mulatas” by Di Cavalcanti, valued at about US$ 1.5 million and which decorates the Noble Hall of the Planalto Palace a few meters from Lula’s office, was torn into seven parts with sharp objects.

The sculpture “O Pied Piper”, by Bruno Jorge and valued at around US$ 50,000, was totally destroyed, while a wooden sculpture by Frans Krajcberg was torn to pieces and its parts were scattered in various places.

The list of damaged works also includes the work table of President Juscelino Kubitscheck (1956-1961), who planned and founded Brasilia, and the sculpture “Apocalyptic Venus” by Argentine Marta Minujín.

All the photographs that were in the gallery of former Brazilian presidents were removed from the wall and smashed.

At the headquarters of the Congress, the list includes the stained glass window “Araguaia”, by Marianne Peretti, which decorated the Green Room of the Lower House and which was totally destroyed; the bronze sculpture “A dancer”, by Victor Brecheret and which was registered as missing, and a sculpture by Athos Bulcão.

Also stolen from the Legislature were all the gifts from foreign authorities that were exposed in showcases and even a soccer ball with the autograph of the famous attacker Neymar and that was part of an exhibition on the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

At the headquarters of the Supreme Court, the monumental sculpture “A Justiça” by Alfredo Ceschiatti, stained with aerosols, was attacked; the sculptures of historical personalities that were in the “Hall of the Busts”; and a rug that belonged to Princess Isabel, daughter of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.

Likewise, in the court building, the chairs used by the magistrates and designed by the architect Jorge Zalszupin and the historic coat of arms of the Republic that decorated the main wall of the plenary court were destroyed.

Source: EFE

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