THE ORIGIN
As Art Director at the agency Midas Propaganda of Entrepreneur Abraham Medina in Rio de Janeiro in 196 I met his 3 children: Ruy, Rubem and Roberto; the latter I followed later at Artplan Publicidade in the 70s as Art Director and Lay out man , where I met the writer Orígenes Lessa who at the time was the Editor of Artplan, and at the beginning of 1982 Roberto asked me to paint a picture for him with Don Quixote, motivating me, from then on, to imbue myself deeply with Quixotesque history. That's when Maria Alice, then Roberto's wife, lent me the 3 volumes in archaic Portuguese of the book Don Quixote da Mancha, which led me to paint, for a few months, a Collection of 24 Works, from which Roberto chose “O Apogeu do Quixote”. During this period I left Artplan and dedicated myself exclusively to painting.
This Collection gave content to an Exhibition at the ABL - Academia Brasileira de Letras in December 1982, officially inaugurating the Centro Cultural do Brasil, an annex building to the ABL. Absolute success! It was the biggest artistic event of that year, with wide coverage in Jornal O Globo, Jornal do Brasil, in Revista Gener, Jornal Israelita and some columns...
I had been promoted in Sonia Streva's Globarte Column in O Globo Newspaper (the Plastic Artist Sansão Campos Pereira had given me the tip), when on September 24, 1982 I became “People Prominent”, which caught Kinga's attention, President of ABD – Associação Brasileira de Desenho, who was promoting, at the time, the Contemporary International Exhibition of Visual Arts in the annex building of ABL (not yet officially opened), inviting me to participate, and accepting his invitation, I was part of the He shows with the painting “The Victory of Don Quixote in Papyrus”, which won me a Gold Medal as an award and an honor as an Illustrious Man of Brazil.
So I arrived at the ABL, and having finished installing the heavy painting at the top of the first flight of stairs in the annex building, I felt the presence of two people behind me and turned around, I met Orígenes Lessa again, this time as an Academician and accompanied by his wife Maria Eduarda, he commenting to me that I didn't know I was capable of doing something so impressive, and that I replied: “I didn't know either”, and who had introduced me to follow Austregésilo de Athayde, President of the ABL at the time, who put me as a requirement to grant me space, that the presentation be made by the Art Critic Antônio Bento, which I attended, and then granted me the attached Building of the ABL for 7 days, from December 17 to 24, 1982, to carry out the Exhibition on the theme of Don Quixote, and with whom I talked a lot... I was one of the few who could sit next to him on the stool that was in the Garden at the entrance of the Petit Trianon, a habit that Athayde cultivated every Friday in the late afternoon.
On one of these occasions, years later... it must have been in early 1993, close to my ear, he suggested the challenge of painting the Portrait of the then Entrepreneur Roberto Marinho, saying that I liked it (because Marinho didn't like to have his portrait, and I knew him well as they were childhood friends) would put me at the top with his promotion. Believed in my Talent. I accepted the challenge. He reciprocates with the suggestion that he invite Roberto Marinho to be an Academician (which happened on July 22, 1993 when he was elected, taking office on October 19, 1993).
Dr. Roberto, as he was called, had acquired in 1982/1983 two Paintings from my Exhibition: “O Quixote e Rocinante foreseeing the impact against the mill” and “Don Quixote riding serene”. I have a photo of the moment I delivered them to your house in Cosme Velho.
On December 17, 1992, I held a new exhibition at ABL honoring Dr. Roberto, and in the following year I acquired another work of my own, this time the painting “Argentina”. We recorded the delivery, me and my daughter Rosângela, in a photograph autographed by him on May 5, 1993.
It was then that I followed Athayde's advice and proposed to Dr. Roberto to paint his Portrait, whereupon I asked him to provide me with an enlargement of his face, specifically the photo we took at his side during the delivery of the “Argentina” Painting. In the end, it had been a special moment. The Jornal O Globo, which had registered the moment, provided it with the photographer. Dona Lígia, her Secretary at the time, handed us the enlarged photo of her face.
From then on, between 1993 and 1996, I started to paint the Portrait of Dr. Roberto, who had been following the elaboration of the Painting since the beginning, without making any kind of financial contribution.
When I sketched the first traces of the graphite drawing on the white canvas, my Daughter took her to Jornal O Globo, being received in the Presidency by Dona Ligia, fine Senhora, who took her to Dr. Roberto to appreciate in his Personal Cabinet. After a few minutes, she returned with the canvas, transmitting the notes that Dr. Roberto had made, explaining to my Daughter that this was a preliminary study and that during the oil painting all these observations would be improved.
I used my own technique that I call “Attraction”, using materials such as synthetic enamel, oil, polyurethane resin, gold leaf, gemstones and mirror, providing a three-dimensional and refined effect.
It was a long and challenging period of accomplishment that took 3 years, starting to portray, in uniform, the already Academic Roberto Marinho in his immortal figure.
After the Work, I, my Mother and Daughter, took the Attraction Painting in the O Globo Newspaper with a rich frame, being attended by the Brother, Dr. Rogerio Marinho, who received the Work to show Dr. Roberto, asking the price of it , to which he replied that he had not thought about it, because the challenge was that Dr. Roberto liked the result and with his final acceptance, I could consider the Work finished. And so, to be able to have your support and promotion, as Athayde predicted, putting me at the top and establishing myself as an Artist in the Art Market, which out of a million... only one can.
We leave Painting with him in confidence.
After 3 days, Dr. Rogerio called us, asking us to go to the newspaper. Upon receiving us, as Dr. Roberto's interlocutor, he said that the Painting was good and that we could do with it whatever we wanted, returning it to us. We get cold!
Without understanding the reason for the return of the Portrait and this unexpected reaction that I considered to be at least unusual and contradictory, without logic or meaning, in addition to trying to find a plausible explanation for what I interpreted as discourtesy, I started to wonder what value I would give to the Portrait, dealing with the Man who was considered the God of Brazil, allied to his wide representation in the Brazilian Society and with international prestige. It had to be consistent with his business and social importance to avoid any possibility of undermining his person, which on my part was totally out of the question, since my admiration for him was huge.
I reasoned along the following lines: at the time, the most expensive painting on the planet was “Dr. Vincent Van Gogh's Gachet” sold for US$ 82.5 million, and understanding that Dr. Roberto is more important than Dr. Gachet, I quoted the Work at US$ 100 million.
It was then that I thought about finding people interested in acquiring “O Retrato do Acadêmico Roberto Marinho” to present it as a courtesy. I then proceeded to divulge the Work in full pages in several newspapers, Folha de São Paulo, Correio Brasiliense, Hoje em Dia and Folha de Minas, placing the demand that, whoever acquired it, give it to Dr. Roberto as a gift. The repercussion was considerable. It gave us something to talk about.
At that time, Argentine businessman Eduardo Costantini, who had acquired the “Abaporu” from Tarsila do Amaral for his Museum, the Malba de Buenos Aires, had been promoting himself in Brazil with the intention of opening a branch here. It appeared to be a strong candidate.
Having made telephone contact with him, he agreed to see the Painting. We then agreed to take her to Buenos Aires and scheduled the personal meeting in advance. In this way, we programmed THE TRIP to Bs. As.
...
Luis Héctor Pedrini