The Moon

Amaral first showed A Lua (The Moon) in Paris, soon after she painted it in 1928. Beginning in 1920, she had traveled frequently between the French capitol and her native Brazil, working in both places. With works like this, she debuted a new style distinct from anything on the Parisian scene: sensuous, highly stylized landscapes and depictions of daily life rendered in a rich palette of saturated color. In this fantastical scene, a lone cactus in the foreground begins to take on the characteristics of a human figure. The wavy curves of a rippling stream, a quarter moon, and an undulating horizon resonate, infusing Amaral’s world with dreamlike qualities.

Credit: Gift of Joan H. Tisch (by exchange)