Tarsila do Amaral is considered one of the pioneers of modern art in Brazil. Her pursuit of a genuinely national artistic expression, while influenced by European avant-garde movements, was fundamental to the consolidation of Brazilian modernism. In 1920, the artist traveled to Paris, where she was exposed to Cubism, Dadaism, and Futurism. Upon returning to Brazil shortly after the Semana de Arte Moderna [Modern Art Week] of 1922, she strengthened her ties with the modernist group and began a process of assimilating modern European painting, integrating it with themes from Brazilian culture and everyday life. During this period, her work was characterized by the use of vibrant colors and the geometrization of forms. 

In 1928, Tarsila painted Abaporu, a seminal work that laid the foundation for the Movimento Antropofágico [Anthropophagic Movement]. From this point on, her painting became less geometric, adopting more organic forms and themes that engaged with the fantastic and dreamlike, reflecting her growing interest in Brazilian myths and folklore. The following year, she held her first solo exhibition in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro. In 1931, she exhibited in Moscow and aligned herself with the political project of the Communist Party, leading her to produce more realist works with a restrained use of color and a strong focus on social critique. In the second half of the 1940s, Tarsila revisited the central themes of her early production, reinterpreting them with a fresh perspective. Rural motifs, once depicted with exuberance, returned with a renewed simplicity, appearing in more refined compositions with a bucolic atmosphere. 

In 1950, MAM São Paulo held the first retrospective of Tarsila do Amaral’s work. In 1951, she was awarded a prize at the 1st Bienal de São Paulo for her painting Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (1924). In 1969, she held the retrospective Tarsila do Amaral: 50 anos de Pintura, at MAM Rio de Janeiro and MAM São Paulo. Her work has been revisited posthumously in various exhibitions in Brazil an abroad, such as: Tarsila do Amaral Inventing Modern Art in Brazil, held at MoMA, New York, USA (2018); Tarsila Popular, one of the largest retrospective exhibitions on the artist, held at MASP, São Paulo, Brazil (2019); and Tarsila do Amaral: Peindre le Brésil moderne, Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, France, with a subsequent exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain (2024).  

Her works are part of the collections of Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Argentina; MoMA, USA; Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Spain; Grenoble Museum, France; Hermitage Museum, Russia; MASP, Brazil; MAM São Paulo, Brazil; Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP – MAC USP, Brazil; MAM Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro; among many others.