Aloísio Magalhães was a Brazilian painter, designer, engraver, and scenographer born in 1927 in Recife, Pernambuco. He studied law and participated in the Teatro do Estudante de Pernambuco. He later studied museology in Paris from 1951-1953 and engraving techniques with Stanley William Hayter. Upon returning to Brazil, he devoted himself to graphic arts and visual communication, helping establish the field in Brazil. Notable works included designs for the São Paulo Bienal and symbols for Rio de Janeiro's 400th anniversary. He held roles directing heritage institutions and advocated for preservation of Brazil's historical sites. Magalhães worked across diverse medi

1. Encyclopaedia Itaú Cultural - Visual Arts
Magalhães, Aloísio (1927 - 1982)
Outros Nomes: Aloísio, Aloisio Magalhães, Aloísio Magalhães, Aloísio Barbosa Magalhães, Aluísio Magalhães
Biography
Aloísio Barbosa Magalhães (Recife, Pernambuco, 1927 - Padua, Italy 1982). Painter,
designer, engraver, scenographer, costume designer. Graduated in law from the Federal
University of Pernambuco (UFPE), in 1950. During this period, he took part in the Teatro
do Estudante de Pernambuco [Student Theatre of Pernambuco] (TEP), where he carried out
the roles of stage and costume designer, in addition to being responsible for the puppet
theatre. With a scholarship from the French government, he studied museology in Paris
from 1951 to 1953, also attending the Atelier 17, a centre for disseminating knowledge of
engraving technique, where he was a pupil of the engraver Stanley William Hayter
(1901-1988). He returned to Brazil in 1953. In 1956, with a scholarship granted by the
American government, he went to the United States, where he devoted himself to graphic art
and visual programming. Together with Eugene Feldman, he published the books Doorway
to Portuguese and Doorway to Brasília, and lectured at the Philadelphia Museum School of
Art. In 1960, he returned to Brazil and opened a visual communication practice, a field in
which he was one of the pioneers within the country, executing projects for companies and
public institutions. In 1963, he collaborated in creating the Escola Superior de Desenho
Industrial [Higher School of Industrial Design] (ESDI), where he lectured in visual
communication. In 1964, he created the symbol of the 4th Centenary of Rio de Janeiro, the
first of his works to have major public impact, and in the following year, designed the first
symbol for the Bienal Foundation of São Paulo. From 1966 onwards, he developed designs
for Brazilian coins and banknotes. In 1979, he was appointed director of the National
Artistic and Historical Heritage Institute (Iphan), and in the following year, the chairman of
the Fundação Nacional Pró-Memória [National Memorial Foundation], when he initiated a
campaign for the preservation of Brazil's historical heritage. As a tribute to him, the
Metropolitan Art Gallery of Recife changed its name to the Aloísio Magalhães Metropolitan
Art Gallery in 1982. In 1997, the name of the institution was changed to the Aloísio
Magalhães Modern Art Gallery (MAMAM).
Critical Commentary
At the end of the 1940s, as law student in Recife, Aloísio Magalhães took part in the Teatro
do Estudante de Pernambuco [Pernambuco Student Theatre] (TEP), which proposed a
popular theatre with performances in public squares. He worked as scenographer, costume
designer and was responsible for the puppet theatre. He then received a scholarship from
the French government to study museology in Paris, where he remained from 1951 to 1953.
While there, he also attended Atelier 17, an important experimental laboratory for the
dissemination of engraving techniques, where he had lessons with the engraver Stanley
William Hayter (1901-1988).
On returning to Brazil in 1953, he devoted himself sporadically to painting and carried out
researches in the graphic arts. He took part in the founding of Gráfico Amador, a workshop
created by a group of intellectuals interested in the art of the book, carrying out experiments
with printing techniques. Their publications paid particular attention to graphic form, with

2. Encyclopaedia Itaú Cultural - Visual Arts
Pregão Turístico do Recife [Tourist Guide to Recife], by João Cabral de Mello Neto, and
with design and illustrations by Aloísio Magalhães standing out among them.
In 1960, after working for a time with visual programming and graphic arts in the United
States, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, opening an office dedicated to visual communication, in
which field he was a pioneer within Brazil, executing projects for companies and public
sector institutions. His projects included the creation of the symbols for the São Paulo
Bienal Foundation and the 4th Centenary of Rio de Janeiro, his first work to have a major
impact, with these symbols spontaneously reproduced by the population at various points
within the city. In creating symbols, Magalhães usually started from a unit which is
reflected, exploring its three-dimensional nature and the rotation of the volume in space. He
worked with the design and editing of art books. In 1963, he participated in the creation of
the Higher School of Industrial Design (ESDI), where he lectured in visual communication.
He executed the design project for the new cruzeiro banknote in 1966.
In 1979, Aloísio Magalhães was appointed Director of the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico
e Artístico Nacional [National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage] (Iphan), and
Secretary of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, in 1981. During the 1980s,
he began a campaign for the preservation of Brazilian historical heritage, submitting
proposals most notably with regard to Ouro Preto and the ruins of São Miguel das Missões.
In 1972, he exhibited the series Cartemas, a name given by Antônio Houaiss, based on
postcards, used in collages which explored the principles of the multiple and mirroring.
During this period, he made a series of drawings of Olinda, recording its landscape and
architecture in a poetic way, and was notable for his artistic versatility and his activities in
the field of cultural policy and the preservation of historical heritage.
Research Sources
ALOISIO Magalhães e o desenho industrial no Brasil. São Paulo: FIESP/CIESP, 1983. [12]
p., il. color.
ARTE no Brasil. Introdução Pietro Maria Bardi, Oscar Niemeyer; comentário José Roberto
Teixeira Leite, Ana Maria Jover, Ottaviano De Fiore, Ivo Zanini, Carlos Alberto Cerqueira
Lemos. São Paulo: Abril Cultural, 1982. 319 p., il. p&b., color.
CAVALCANTI, Carlos (org.), AYALA, Walmir (org.). Dicionário brasileiro de artistas
plásticos - M - P. Apresentação Maria Alice Barroso. Brasilia: MEC : INL, 1973. v. 3, pt. 1,
il. p&b. (Dicionário especializado, 5).
LEITE, João de Souza (org.). A Herança do olhar: o design de Aloísio Magalhães. Rio de
Janeiro: Artviva Produção Cultural, 2003. 280 p., il. p&b, color., 27 cm.
LEITE, José Roberto Teixeira. 500 anos da pintura brasileira. Produção Raul Luis Mendes
Silva, Eduardo Mace; design Alessandra Gerin; trilha sonora Roberto Araújo. [S.l.]: Log On
Informática, 1999. 1 CD-ROM.
LEITE, José Roberto Teixeira. Dicionário crítico da pintura no Brasil. Edição Raul
Mendes Silva. Rio de Janeiro: Artlivre, 1988. 555 p., il. p&b., color.
MAGALHÃES, Aloísio. Aloísio Magalhães: pintura e arte gráfica. Rio de Janeiro: MAM,
1958. [15] p. il., p&b, foto.

3. Encyclopaedia Itaú Cultural - Visual Arts
MAGALHÃES, Aloísio. E Triunfo ? : a questão dos bens culturais no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro
: Nova Fronteira, 1997. 262 p.
MARINO, João (org.). Tradição e ruptura: síntese de arte e cultura brasileiras. Introdução
João Marino; comentário Irmhild Wüst; apresentação Roberto Muylaert. São Paulo:
Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, 1984. 308 p., il. p&b color.
PONTUAL, Roberto. Arte/ Brasil/ hoje: 50 anos depois. São Paulo: Collectio, 1973. 401 p.,
il. p&b.
PONTUAL, Roberto. Dicionário das artes plásticas no Brasil. Apresentação Antonio
Houaiss. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1969. 559 p., il. p&b., color.
ZANINI, Walter (org.). História geral da arte no Brasil - II. São Paulo: Fundação Djalma
Guimarães: Instituto Walther Moreira Salles, 1983. 616 p., il. color.