Item code: 132/BR-1
Year
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1964
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Obverse
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Historian and diplomat José Maria da
Silva Paranhos (1845-1912) - Barão do Rio Branco
|
Reverse
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"A Conquista do Amazonas"
(Conquest of Amazon), painting of Antônio Parreiras; nude woman depicted;
|
Printer
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Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited,
London.
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Size
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157x67 mm
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Obverse description:
Jose
Maria da Silva Paranhos
Jose Maria da Silva Paranhos , Jr., Baron of Rio
Branco (April 20, 1845 – February 10, 1912) was
a Brazilian diplomat, geographer, historian, monarchist, politician and professor, considered to be the "father of
Brazilian diplomacy". He was the son of famous
statesman Jose Maria da
Silva Paranhos. The Baron of Rio Branco was a member of the Brazilian
Academy of Letters, occupying its 34th chair from 1898 until his death in 1912. As a
representative of Brazil, through his outstanding diplomacy, he managed to
peacefully resolve Brazil's border disputes with its South American neighbours.
In 1889, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil granted him the Brazilian nobility title Baron of Rio Branco, a few days before
the Proclamation of the Republic. Rio Branco nonetheless continued to
use the title throughout his life, despite governmental prohibition, because of
his monarchist beliefs and in respect for his father.
Career history and legacy
Rio Branco began his political career as a congressman in the
House of Commons. From 1876 on, he was the Brazilian Consul General in
Liverpool, England. He was also the Brazilian Ambassador in Berlin in the
beginning of the 20th century. Rio Branco's most important legacy to Brazil was
his successful effort, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in defining the
country's borders with all of its neighbours. He was appointed Minister of
Foreign Affairs in 1902 and retained office until 1912, under four different
Presidents, a feat unequalled in Brazilian history.
Before and during his term, he negotiated territorial disputes
between Brazil and some of its neighbours and consolidated the borders of
modern Brazil. He is considered one of the most prominent Brazilian statesmen
ever, as his proverbial work capacity, knowledge and skills were essential for
the successful outcome of difficult boundary disputes, some of which submitted
to international arbitration – such as with Argentina and France –, as well as for
incorporating new territory (the state of Acre, originally Bolivian).
As
a mediator he negotiated and settled disputes between the United States and many European countries. On those occasions, he never
abandoned his belief in diplomacy as the means to handle international matters,
thus helping establish Brazil's reputation as a peace-loving nation.
Popularity
In 1909, Rio Branco was encouraged to
run for the Presidency, but he declined, as he could not envisage consensus
around his name. He was very popular, however, among the people, at the time of
his death, to the point of paralysing Carnival – another unparalleled feat in Brazilian history – on the
day he died (February 10), when official mourning was declared. The first
recorded instance of an official moment of silence dedicated to a person's death took place in Portugal on
February 13, 1912. The Portuguese Senate dedicated 10 minutes of silence to the
baron. This moment of silence was registered in the Senate's records of that
day.
As a writer he wrote many books, dealing
mostly with the history of Brazil, and was awarded prizes and occupied the 34th
seat of the Brazilian Academy of Literature. Brazil's diplomacy academy (Instituto Rio Branco)
is named after the Baron. Rio Branco is portrayed on the fifty centavos coin of
the Brazilian real currency.
Reverse description
Antonio Diogo da Silva Parreiras
Antonio Diogo da Silva Parreiras (20 January 1860, Niteroi - 17 October 1937, Niterói) was a Brazilian painter, designer and illustrator.
He was one of nine children and his father was a goldsmith. In 1882, he enrolled at the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro, but left two years later to attend the free painting classes being offered by the German immigrant artist Georg Grimm. In 1885, when Grimm left to work in the countryside, Parreiras became an autodidact. A year later, one of his works was purchased by Emperor Pedro II.
 |
"A Conquista do
Amazonas" (Conquest of Amazon)
|
This allowed him to resume his formal studies and travel to Europe in 1888, entering the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia where his teacher was Filippo Carcano. Upon his return to Brazil two years later, he participated in the "Exposiçao Gerais de Belas Artes". Later that same year, he became a Professor of landscape painting at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes (ENBA) and, following the example set by Grimm, introduced his students to plein-air painting. Following disagreements with ENBA over changes in the curriculum, he set up his own school called the " Escola do Ar Livre".
This allowed him to resume his formal studies and travel to Europe in 1888, entering the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia where his teacher was Filippo Carcano. Upon his return to Brazil two years later, he participated in the "Exposicao Gerais de Belas Artes". Later that same year, he became a Professor of landscape painting at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes (ENBA) and, following the example set by Grimm, introduced his students to plein-air painting. Following disagreements with ENBA over changes in the curriculum, he set up his own school called the “Escola do Ar Livre".
 |
The End of Romance
(1915)
|
He was soon doing much of his work in the forests outside Teresopolis. He also received numerous commissions to paint historical scenes and, after 1899, did decorations for the government in public buildings, such as the "Allegory of Apollo and the Goddesses of the Hours", which he created for the Palacio da Liberdade in Belo Horizonte. His female nudes are also considered to be especially well done. From 1906 to 1919, he maintained a second studio in Paris and exhibited at the Salon. He was also named a delegate of the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1911.
In 1925 he was chosen as Brazil's best artist by the readers of Fon-Fon, a magazine created by art critic Gonzaga Duque. The following year, he published his autobiography and was inducted into the "Academia Fluminense de Letras". In 1933, he participated in his last exhibitions; the "Jubileu Artistico" in Sao Paulo and Niteroi. Four years after his death, his former studio became the Museu Antonio Parreiras.
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