Drawing by Alfredo Ceschiatti

Enthusiastic drawing by the controversial Minas Gerais sculptor Alfredo Ceschiatti, Oscar Niemeyer's constant partner.

Drawing with dedication by the sculptor Alfredo Ceschiatti. For D.Maria José or Zezé, as she was known. Date and location unknown. 26 cm x 21 cm. Excellent condition. Single piece.

Alfredo Ceschiatti (1918 - 1989) was an internationally famous sculptor from Minas Gerais. He mainly explored the female figure, represented with pure and rounded shapes. His first trip to Italy, in 1938, was decisive in the admiration provoked by the works of the Renaissance masters.

For me, Italy was a shock. (...) Deep down, who taught me my whole life was Michelangelo, my great emotion .

This influence also explains the almost always monumental character of his works. Each sculpture took him two to three months, from the first study to the casting, done by specialized helpers.

I think a lot about the place where it will be, it is my starting point and I prefer large outdoor pieces, where there is more possibility of exploring planes, shadows, lights. I would like to make even bigger sculptures, like Christ the Redeemer, which I think is a beautiful piece of work. I think that sculpture should not be a small decorative object. It has to have a more monumental sense.

In fact, in 1943, Alfredo Ceschiatti began his collaboration with the revolutionary projects of Oscar Niemeyer, for whom the mayor of Belo Horizonte, Juscelino Kubitschek, commissioned the Lagoa da Pampulha complex. This was the beginning of the trajectory that would make the architect an internationally renowned professional. Ceschiatti took over the award-winning bas-relief of the Pampulha Church, having as an inspiration the strength of the Sistine Chapel. He also sculpted "O Abraço", the work of two women embracing, considered immoral by the traditional family from Minas Gerais at the time: it was kept for many years until it was finally exposed in a garden in Pampulha.

In 1960, he finished The Three Armed Forces, theme of the Monument to the Dead of the Second World War, in Rio de Janeiro, certainly becoming one of his best-known works.

The partnership with Oscar Niemeyer reached its peak with the creation of Brasília, where the sculptor's work followed that of the architect: "Banhistas" at Palácio da Alvorada, "Justice" at the Federal Supreme Court, "Duas Irmãs" at Itamarati or "Evangelists and Angels" in the Cathedral of Brasilia were works by Alfredo Ceschiatti.

Niemeyer said of him: “Like two good friends, we walk through life. Me, absorbed by architecture, inventing shapes, playing with reinforced concrete; he, to make his sculptures. These beautiful, baroque, curvy women. How I like to see them”.

"D.Maria José or Zezé, as she was known, was an art educator, a pioneering teacher at the UNB, moving away from it in the 70s, in solidarity with her colleagues persecuted by the dictatorship. She created the Escola Classe da 104 Sul and was a great friend of the artist, among others like Oscar Niemeyer and Athos Bulcão." wrote a visitor to the Glórias collection, Claudio Pereira, who we thank for this information.

The sculptor's documents are preserved mainly by his family and public institutions.