page_title: José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior
section_title: Return to Brazil
hierarchical_section_title: José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior / Biography / Return to Brazil
context_page_description: José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, commonly known as Almeida Júnior, was a Brazilian artist and designer; one of the first there to paint in the Realistic tradition of Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet. The "Dia do Artista Plástico" is celebrated on his birthday.
context_section_description: He remained in Paris until 1882. Then, after a brief trip to Italy, he returned to Brazil and exhibited the works he had created during his absence. In 1883, he opened a studio in São Paulo and taught art privately. He also held exclusive art exhibitions and fulfilled commissions for portraits of notable people ranging from coffee barons to Republican politicians. In 1884, he held a showing at the Exposição Geral de Belas Artes and was made a knight of the Order of the Rose.
  A year later, Victor Meirelles, wanting to retire, offered Júnior his position as professor of history painting at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but Júnior refused the offer because he preferred to stay in São Paulo. From 1887 to 1896, he made three more trips to Europe. He increasingly rejected Biblical and historical subjects in favor of regionalist themes, depicting the everyday life of the caipiras while moving from academic style to Naturalism. Despite these changes, his reputation at the Imperial Academy remained unchallenged, and he received its Gold Medal in 1898.
caption: Menino (A Boy) (1882)
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