Sodden eyes: a pictorial analysis of the representations of racialised individuals in the MABE collection (1930–1950)

Abstract

This study proposes a pictorial analysis of the representations of Black individuals in works by Pará-based painters Antonieta Santos Feio (Vendedora de Cheiro, 1947, and Mendiga, 1951), Dahlia Déa (Preto Velho, 1936), Fernando Otero (Baiana, 1945), and José Girard (Meditação, 1933), all part of the collection displayed in the Waldemar da Costa and Armando Balloni galleries at the Museu de Arte de Belém (MABE). Focusing on the 1930s to 1950s, the research investigates historiographical and contextual shifts in the post-abolition Black population of Pará, examining how art participated in shaping social imaginaries during a period marked by hegemonic cultural identity policies. Methodologically, the study draws on Social Art History, engaging with Visual Anthropology and Cultural History to explore concepts such as identity, racialization, and symbolic power. The central hypothesis argues that these works reflect a typification of Black figures, shaped by aesthetic and ideological projects aimed at homogenizing racialized representations in alignment with official narratives of national identity. Furthermore, the article discusses tensions between tradition and modernity in Belém’s artistic context, where art functioned both as a tool of domination – reinforcing stereotypes – and as a form of resistance, capturing nuances of Black agency. The analysis reveals how these portraits reflect period contradictions, such as the erasure of ethnic diversity in favour of a unified identity, while also allowing glimpses of marginalized subjectivities. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the importance of revisiting these works to critically reassess dominant artistic narratives and amplify voices silenced by traditional historiography.