Le labyrinthe, 1959

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva   Famous Artists

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, born in Lisbon in 1908, forerunner of abstract landscaping, revolutionized the pictorial composition of the 20th century. She was introduced to painting in Lisbon in 1928 then moved to the French capital. She joined La Grande Chaumière and the Académie Scandinave. She trained with renowned artists such as Fernand Léger, Antoine Bourdelle, Charles Despiau, Othon Friesz and Roger Bissière. She joined the Paris school which brings together the great foreign artists. The composition of his works strongly detaches the trends of the time. A labyrinth of lines takes hold of the canvas, converges towards a vanishing point and carries our gaze into the infinity of the off-screen. Inspired by town planning and architecture, we can perfectly perceive her thirst for knowledge through this accumulation of lines which directs our thoughts towards the unknown. She also duplicates these mosaics in tapestries and ceramics. The space is fragmented as in the works of Cézanne, the colors evoke the palettes of abstract art and cubism. The novelty that she brings to artistic creation will be rewarded many times: at the grand prize of the Sao Paulo biennial in 1961, at the National Grand Prix of the Arts in 1963, she won the title of "Knight of the Legion of Honor. In 1979. She died in 1992.