A Independência nas mãos de D. Leopoldina: sobre o quadro Sessão do Conselho de Estado de Georgina de Albuquerque (1922)

Abstract

This dissertation examines the painting Sessão do Conselho de Estado que Decidiu a Independência (1922) by the Brazilian painter, illustrator and teacher Georgina Moura de Andrade Albuquerque (1885–1962), analyzing its production, reception, and circulation. Part of the collection of the National Historical Museum (Rio de Janeiro), the work resulted from a competition promoted by the government as part of the celebrations of the Centenary of Independence. The canvas depicts the meeting of the Council of State, presided over by Princess Leopoldina, which preceded by a few days the act carried out by Dom Pedro on the banks of the Ipiranga River on September 7, 1822. In the painting, the regent is shown surrounded by ministers José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada, and other members of the Council of State. Recognized as a pioneer in Brazilian history painting, Georgina Albuquerque has her trajectory examined in order to situate the work within her broader production and to understand the factors that led her to, briefly, engage with this genre. The research also seeks to establish a dialogue between the artist’s composition and other works produced in both national and international contexts, aiming to identify the formal and narrative specificities of her work. Furthermore, the study investigates the trajectory of the painting over time, from its reception at the moment of its production to its circulation in different periods, relating it to the construction of an official memory of the process of Brazilian Independence. Finally, in light of contemporary demands, other possible interpretations of the painting are examined, highlighting its uses in the development of new narratives for the national imaginary.