The Beach (A Praia)
The Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes fuses modernist styles of painting with the emblems of her cultural heritage. Her abstract compositions are typically layered with imagery, particularly floral designs and ornate circular medallions. Milhazes draws upon local visual traditions as diverse as Baroque colonial art, with the filigree halos of its saints; folk styles of decorative painting on furniture and architecture; and the mass-produced textiles, wallpaper, and ceramic tile of her everyday surroundings. In addition, her brilliant color schemes recall the costumes and parade floats of Carnival, especially as celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, her hometown and the cultural capital of Brazil.
For The Beach, Milhazes devised a narrow, vertical format with a cascading, off-center arrangement of forms. The upper portion suggests a cluster of vines laden with fruit and flowers, as well as elaborate orbs that evoke heavenly bodies or hanging lanterns. The composition as a whole can be viewed as a woman in profile, wearing a tiered, ruffled skirt and concealing herself behind the draping vines and jewel-like spheres. The traditionally "feminine" motifs of flowers and ornamental trimmings are not only typical of Milhazes' work, but also establish associations between her art and certain crafts customarily assigned to women, such as lacemaking, sewing, and beadwork.
Like her imagery, Milhazes' working method is eclectic, and derives from both printmaking and collage. She paints her images on sheets of plastic, and then applies the images to the canvas by means of transfer techniques. This process gives the painted forms an unusual smoothness of surface, which she then embellishes with details in visible brushwork. The completed canvas, however, is a seamlessly conceived image that seduces the eye with its interplay of festive colors, layered forms, and patternings of ornament and abstraction.
For The Beach, Milhazes devised a narrow, vertical format with a cascading, off-center arrangement of forms. The upper portion suggests a cluster of vines laden with fruit and flowers, as well as elaborate orbs that evoke heavenly bodies or hanging lanterns. The composition as a whole can be viewed as a woman in profile, wearing a tiered, ruffled skirt and concealing herself behind the draping vines and jewel-like spheres. The traditionally "feminine" motifs of flowers and ornamental trimmings are not only typical of Milhazes' work, but also establish associations between her art and certain crafts customarily assigned to women, such as lacemaking, sewing, and beadwork.
Like her imagery, Milhazes' working method is eclectic, and derives from both printmaking and collage. She paints her images on sheets of plastic, and then applies the images to the canvas by means of transfer techniques. This process gives the painted forms an unusual smoothness of surface, which she then embellishes with details in visible brushwork. The completed canvas, however, is a seamlessly conceived image that seduces the eye with its interplay of festive colors, layered forms, and patternings of ornament and abstraction.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Beach (A Praia)
- Artist: Beatriz Milhazes (Brazilian, born Rio de Janeiro, 1960)
- Date: 1997
- Medium: Acrylic, metallic paint, and metal leaf on canvas
- Dimensions: 8 ft. 6 in. × 33 7/8 in. (259.1 × 86 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Professor and Mrs. Zevi Scharfstein, by exchange, 1998
- Object Number: 1998.80
- Rights and Reproduction: © Beatriz Milhazes
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Multiple artists/makers
2002
Lygia Pape
1963–76
Joaquín Torres-García
1931
Sarah Grilo
1967
Roberto Matta
1946
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.