Beginning to paint at around the age of thirty—by which time he was already a prominent figure in Rio de Janeiro’s cultural scene—he brought to the canvas his lived experiences within the worlds of samba, Carnaval, and Candomblé, with a keen eye on the everyday life of Black communities amid the emergence of modernity in Brazil.
His practice is closely connected to crucial moments in Brazilian history. Born in 1898, a decade after the official abolition of slavery, he built a singular register of the dynamics of labor, social life, and religious practices of the Black populations within the context of modernization, as well as of the transformation of samba—from a criminalized musical expression to its appropriation as a national symbol during the Estado Novo regime. His multifaceted activity offers an important perspective on the formation and constitution of Brazilian identity and, in this sense, may be considered complementary to the project undertaken by São Paulo Modernism (with figures like Tarsila do Amaral and Candido Portinari), as well as a pioneering example of the blurring between art and life.
This legacy was honored in the 2026 Carnaval parade of the samba school Unidos da Vila Isabel. The samba-enredo Macumbembê, Samborembá: I Dreamed That a Sambista Dreamed of Africa recounts notable moments from the multi-artist’s life—such as the composition of the samba Pierrot Apaixonado alongside Noel Rosa, his role as Ogã–Alabê at Tia Ciata’s terreiro, and his consecration as a painter—to reveal Heitor dos Prazeres as someone who thought and acted toward the affirmation of the diversity of African diasporas that shaped Brazilian culture in the region of Rio de Janeiro he dubbed “Africa in miniature”—later known as Little Africa (Pequena África).
Inspired by Carnaval, this viewing room brings together a selection of paintings produced in the 1960s, with samba as their central theme. Among them are works shown at the 36th São Paulo Biennial, which closed in January and also highlighted the artist’s key relation to music.
During his lifetime, Heitor dos Prazeres saw his work as a visual artist widely recognized. In 1951, he received the National Painting Prize at the first São Paulo Biennial for Moenda (1951), now part of the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC USP). The following year, he was included in the Brazilian representation at the 26th Venice Biennale, in Italy, and participated in exhibitions in Argentina, Senegal, England, France, and Germany.
In 2025, his work returned to the São Paulo Biennial when a major group of his works was featured in the exhibition’s 36th edition. Titled Not Every Traveller Walks Roads—On Humanity as Practice, the exhibition was curated by Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and celebrated beauty and collective practices, drawing inspiration from music and poetry as strategies of political resistance.
A obra de Heitor dos Prazeres é parte de coleções privadas e de instituições como MoMA, Nova York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; El Museo del Barrio, Nova York; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madri; MAM Rio de Janeiro; Museu AfroBrasil Emanuel Araujo, São Paulo; Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR, Rio de Janeiro; MASP, São Paulo; MAM São Paulo; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo; e Fundação Casa Roberto Marinho, Rio de Janeiro.
“A pintura começa aos 40” [Painting Begins at 40], Revista Manchete, 1953
“A pintura começa aos 40”, Revista Manchete, 1953
Correio da Manhã newspaper, 15/07/1952 reports Heitor dos Prazeres’ works at the 26. Venice Biennale
Some of the works in this Viewing Room have been featured in important exhibitions and publications in recent years. In order of appearance, see below for the exhibition history of the works:
1. Untitled, 1965
2. Sambistas no canavial, 1965
Exhibitions
2023 – Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB, Rio de Janeiro
Literature
Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome. Rio de Janeiro: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB, 2023, p.109.
3. Untitled, 1965
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática , São Paulo, Brasil
4. Untitled, 1965
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática , São Paulo, Brasil
2023 – Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB, Rio de Janeiro
Literature
Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome. Rio de Janeiro: MT Projetos de Arte, 2024, p.105
5. Untitled, 1961
Exhibitions
2023 – Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB, Rio de Janeiro
Literature
Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome. Rio de Janeiro: MT Projetos de Arte, 2024
6. Briga de rua, 1966
7. Untitled, 1964
8. Untitled, Déc. 1960
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática, São Paulo, Brasil
9. Untitled, 1964
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática, São Paulo, Brasil
2024 – Uma história da arte brasileira, MAM RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
2024 – Direito à memória, Casa Zalszupin, São Paulo, Brasil
Literature
Lilia Schwarcz (org.) Direito à memória : arte afro-brasileira, indígena e outros modernismos, catálogo de exposição [Exhibition catalog], São Paulo, 2024, p.9
10. Jogo de baralho, 1966
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática, São Paulo, Brasil
2023 – Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB, Rio de Janeiro
Literature
Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome. Rio de Janeiro: MT Projetos de Arte, 2024, p.74
11. Untitled, 1964
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática, São Paulo, Brasil
2024 – Vai, vai, saudade, curadoria (curated by) Cristiano Raimondi, Madre – Museo d’arte contemporanea Donnaregina, Napoli
2023 – Pequenas Áfricas: o Rio que o samba inventou, Instituto Moreira Salles, São Paulo
Literature
Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome. Rio de Janeiro: MT Projetos de Arte, 2024, p.114
12. Untitled, déc . 1960 (1960s)
13. Untitled, déc. 1960 (1960s)
Exhibitions
2024 – Vai, vai, Saudade, curadoria de (curated by) Cristiano Raimondi, Museo Madre, Naples, Italy
14. Untitled, s.d
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática, São Paulo, Brasil
2024 – Rio: medida da terra, Curadoria [Curated by] Luisa Duarte, Flexa Galeria, Rio de Janeiro
2023 – Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro
Literature
Heitor dos Prazeres é meu nome. Rio de Janeiro: MT Projetos de Arte, 2024, p.26
15. Untitled, 1949
Exhibitions
2025 – 36. Bienal de São Paulo, Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática , São Paulo, Brasil
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