Jean Baptiste Debret and the iconography of Brazilian food in the 19th century
Autor: Paulo Seidl | Publicado: 2017-02-01T11:32:00-08:00








Abstract

The
French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil for fifteen years,
provided significant input to the study of the country’s food habits of the
early 19th century through a number of watercolors portraying Brazilian
society. The consumption of manioc meal as a substitute for bread stands out among
other staple foods, such as corn, rice, meat, and beans.

Key
words: Debret, manioc meal, Brazilian food habits



Resumo

O pintor francês Jean-Baptiste Debret, que habitou as
terras brasileiras por 15 anos, deixou uma série de informações para o estudo
dos hábitos alimentares do país no início do século XIX por meio de diversas
aquarelas sobre a sociedade brasileira. É notável o consumo de farinha de
mandioca como substituto do pão, entre outros alimentos de base como o milho, o
arroz, a carne e o feijão.

Palavras chave&nbsp;: Debret, farinha de mandioca, hábitos
alimentares brasileiros





&nbsp;1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Introduction

The objective of this paper is to provide
input on Brazilian food habits in the 19th century, in light of the
work of the French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil for 15
years. Debret depicted the daily life of the Brazilians with significant details
through landscapes, still-lives, slaves, their masters, and the Brazilian
multi-ethnic society of that period. Nothing escaped the fine perception of a
man who not only painted portrays, but also, at times with a rather critical
view, looked into the souls of the Brazilians and their lives.

It goes without saying that representations
of food are omnipresent in Debret’s work. Tropical fruit that did not exist in
Europe are often painted in still-lives. Enslaved black men or women working or
selling food on the street were scenes that also appealed to the painter.
Indigenous and white men, as well as the main events of the Portuguese Court
equally stood out in his work.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2. The
artist

Jean Baptiste Debret was born in Paris in
1768, and died in the same city in1848. He came to Rio de Janeiro in 1817 where
he lived until 1831, to participate in the French Artistic Mission, commanded
by the Portuguese King D. John VI. The purpose of the mission was to increment the
arts in the recently upgraded colony and included, in addition to the painter,
architects, engineers, professors, artisans, and the like.

The period he lived in Brazil was critical
in the history of the country. Debret witnessed the wake of a nation, and thus portrayed
a number of significant events, such as the arrival of the Austrian princess
Dona Leopoldina, who was to marry D. Pedro, the independence of Brazil in 1822,
the coronation of Emperor D. Pedro shortly after, as well as his resignation
and departure for Portugal, among other important historical events. 

As one of the most important painters of
the First Empire, Debret was extremely interested in people’s daily life.
Cultural aspects of Brazilian society, like music and dance, street scenes with
people of all walks of life, the lush tropical vegetation that surrounded the
city of Rio de Janeiro or the Portuguese-style architecture are some of the
examples of the representations that appear in his work.

Naturally, a good number of his paintings
are dedicated to food. A great deal of still-lives of tropical fruit and
vegetables that did not exist in Europe has been depicted. He also painted
scenes of meat trade, food vendors, street markets, the life in the port, and people
eating, buying, and selling food. 

Interestingly, Debret was not hired to
paint such things, a work to which he dedicated secretly. His primary mission
was to found and coordinate a school of fine arts and to portray the events
related to the Portuguese Royal family. But his interest in, and passion for
the country led him to go further and paint routine scenes he witnessed on the
streets. As a result, a magnificent photograph of Brazilian society and their
food habits emerged through his work.

When he went back to France in 1831, the
painter brought back most of his work, which provided significant material to
the writing of his book. It was not until the early 20th century
that most of his artistic work was brought back to Brazil as a result of the
visionary action of Mr. Castro Maya, a Paris-born Brazilian who acquired the
collection, donating to the Museum in the mid 20th century.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

<!--[endif]-->&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3. Iconography
analysis

<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.1&nbsp; <!--[endif]-->The
carne seca shop

Carne seca,
or jerked beef, was one of the primary sources of animal protein for 19th
century Brazilians. The slopes of Rio de Janeiro were no good land for cattle
raising, which was practiced in the south of the country, in the Province of
Rio Grande do Sul, approximately 1,000 km south of Rio.

The
cattle was brought in by paulistas (São
Paulo natives), but arrived in the Court in bad condition. The long journey
made the cattle exhausted and thin, a fact which made fresh meat not only
expensive but also low end. Jerked beef seemed to be the ideal solution for
that issue. The meat was dried in the same site where the cattle were
slaughtered, then fat and high quality, yielding a much better product. The
jerked beef was packed and sent to Rio either by boat or land, and was sold in the
many city shops, as shown in the example painted by Debret. 

The
shopkeeper was often a poor relative of the producer in the South, which is the
case of the young man sitting in the front of the carne seca shop, as &nbsp;Debret
himself points out, un assez grossier
personage issu d’un Portugais de basse extraction (p. 258). Here the
writings of the painter also play a significant role in the history of
sensitivity. With no sound or smells, paintings are restricted to the visual
aspect. But Debret is keen in describing the foul smell of the shop, which also
serves as the boy’s sleeping room, in the upper mezzanine. 

Next
to the boy two pieces of dried meat are hanging, which would be finely sliced
for retail sale. Those were equally an indicator of the quality of the shop’s
products.&nbsp; Three larger piles of meat are
stocked in the back. In the foreground, to the left, four pieces of tallow may
be observed, and immediately behind, a heap of dried fish. Four pieces of lard
are lying on the foreground, the indispensable toucinho, present in the daily dishes of Brazilian cuisine, which
suggests an influence of the regional cuisines of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

To the
left, in the back, fine animal grease is stocked inside bladders. Also, a line
of candles made from animal fat is available for purchase. At last, salted beef
tongues hanging from the ceiling complete the supply of meats “with the most disgusting smell.”

Debret
was not lying when he mentions the omnipresence of lard in Brazilian cuisine.
Clearly a Portuguese influence, as exemplified in a Portuguese cook book
published in Rio in the 19th century, whose recipes will virtually
include dry pork in all recipes it describes (Rodrigues, 1808). However, the carne seca shop sold exclusively dry
pork. In order to buy fresh meat, shoppers would have to go to the pork
butcher’s, as described in the next session.






Jean-Baptiste
Debret, The carne seca shop, 1829.Watercolor
15 x 20.5cm. 

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MinC




<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.2&nbsp; <!--[endif]-->The
pork butcher’s

The watercolor
the pork butcher’s in the museum is a
smaller picture than the one described in Voyage
Picturesque, and omits a scene showing two slave boys bringing in two whole
pigs for the new supply of the day. In fact, sanitation regulations obliged
pork vendors to supply their businesses twice a day, first at 8 am and later in
the day at 6 or 7 pm.

Despite
the rigid sanitary regulations, the artist is critical about the hygiene of the
shop, and observes that it is the most disgusting of all food shops in the
city, noticing the presence of rats on the premises (De toutes les boutiques de la capital celle du marchand de viande de
porc est la plus dégoûtante, autant par l’odeur fade qui s’en exale…les rats,
pensonnieres gratuits, mangent le comptoir pendant la nuit… p. 282). Also,
he points out the savage manner in which the shopkeeper cuts off a piece of
meat, holding it with his teeth. 

Debret
remarks that pork meat and fat is highly consumed by the Brazilians of all
walks of life. However, the wealthy are more likely to consume pork loin
whereas the poor would have to satisfy with less noble parts of the animal,
such as feet or ears, which would be added to their stews. The next session
discusses one of these stews, the famed angu.





3.3&nbsp; Black
women cooking and selling angu

Although
it is a common belief that only rich people had slaves in large monoculture
farms, in reality it was not so. Many of the middle class white families had
one or two slaves who helped with domestic work and ordinary household chores.
In times of penury, feeding a large family plus the whole entourage could be a
tricky task. Therefore, it was customary for such middle class white men to
send their slaves to the streets to sell food so as to increment the family
budget.&nbsp; 

This
is perhaps the origins of street food in Brazil. From sweets to savory dishes
to fresh fruit and juice, everything could be found on the markets and squares
of Rio in the 19th century. The slaves cooked the food themselves,
so it may be easily assumed that a touch of African taste would be added to the
dishes that they sold for a few vinténs.


This
watercolor is particularly interesting because it shows not only food being
sold on the street, but also being prepared
there. Three black women improvise a fire where they place four huge cast
iron pots. Inside, a stock is prepared with vegetables, such as onions,
tomatoes, and okra – an African ingredient, to which is added cubed offal, like
liver, heart, tongue, and parts of the head. Spice such as chili, bay leaf, parsley
or sage season the dish. To garnish, some manioc flour is served onto the
plate, with which clients make small balls using their fingers. Pork fat and raw
palm oil<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]-->,
another African ingredient, supply the lipids needed for a substantial meal. In
Debret’s own words, the dish had good taste (…voila le mets, d’ailleurs assez succulent et de bon goût… p. 245).

Clients
were often slaves who were not fed at their masters’ and ordinary passer-bys,
who would eat at the spot or take the angu
away (the expression ‘for here or to
go’ may have been invented at that time). Small plates of faience or clay
were available and a large mussel shell served as spoon. The cost was one vintém (two sous and six deniers, in
French currency) for a small dish or three vinténs
(seven sous and six deniers) for a larger portion. A
take-away order, with the price of four vinténs
(ten sous), would feed five to
six poor people, provided that some bananas or oranges were added.

This
hearty meal was served as from early in the morning – 6 to 10 am, and then from
12 to 2 pm. Interestingly, although the dish is clearly described as a popular
meal, it also appealed to the well-off, as described by the author: …le mets…qui figure sur la table de la classe
aisée, et dont elles se régalent, à titre de plaisenterie, pour sauver leur
amour-propre compromise (p. 245). 

The
scene takes place at the popular fish market beach, near the customs, which
gathers a crowd of people. It is seven o’clock in morning, but the sun is
already up and the two sitting men, who work at the customs and have therefore
a great appetite, protect their heads with a turban. A tomato vendor, an habitué of the market, is installed
across from the cooks and enjoys her meal.

The
manioc meal plays here a critical role as a primary source of carbohydrate in
Brazilian food habits of the 19th century, appearing as the most
important staple food. Its long shelf life allied to easiness of transportation
and nutritious value characterized Brazilian cuisine. Native to Brazil, the
manioc has been the staple food of the Brazilian Indigenous since pre-Colombian
times and it was later exported to Africa with significant success, where it
became a popular staple food. 

There
is also a remarkable cultural aspect involving this product. Its dry texture
allows for a perfect combination with stew-like dishes, a Portuguese heritage.
Debret notices that the customs workers use their fingers to make small balls
of manioc meal mixing it with the sauce of the stew.&nbsp; 

The
fact that manioc meal does not require any cooking makes it a very versatile
product, which is poured virtually onto any dish, even to this date. Brazilians
seldom set the table without a bowl of manioc meal on it. Meats, vegetables,
and stews are some of the dishes that manioc meal may be added to, not to
mention the myriad of dishes which use it in their preparation. Although some
authors referred to the manioc meal as a substitute for bread (Debret, 2014;
Von Martius, 2008; Luccock, 2008, and elsewhere), white bread was available in
the city as shown in the following session.



Jean-Baptiste
Debret, Women selling angu, 1826 .Watercolor 18.2 x 23.6cm. 
Museus Castro Maya,
Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MinC



<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.4&nbsp; <!--[endif]-->The
bakery

Rio de
Janeiro was already quite a cosmopolitan city in early 19th century,
with an estimate population of 500,000 inhabitants (Gomes, 2007). It was the
most important port in South America and the primary stop from ships coming
from Europe on their way to the Pacific as well as the main point of departure
for those going to the Old Continent. Its multi-ethnic population consisted of
Natives, Africans, Portuguese, and other European Caucasians who were attracted
to opportunities in the New World. Intermarriage among those different ethnic
populations gave birth to a pluralistic society (Freyre, 1974), which
characterized Brazilian ethnic formation as well as its cuisine.

However,
Europeans coming to this hot tropical city had it hard finding bread, their
customary source of carbohydrate and the most common staple in Europe at the time.
Debret lists only six bakeries in Rio in 1816 and only two mills. Even though wheat
was grown in the Province of Rio Grande
do Sul in the south of the colony, wheat flour was also imported from both North
America and Europe. 

However,
two years after the crowning of the Emperor, a flow of foreigners, especially
French, but also Italians and Germans, boosted the number of bakeries. Their
shops were described as excellent, and produced, in addition to bread, sea
biscuits, cookies, and doughnuts. 

In the
interior of the shop, a small boy, sent by his master, is buying a pound of
bread for the price of four vinténs
(ten sous - but as the price of flour
increased, the weight of bread could plummet). Considering that four vinténs could buy a meal for five
people, it is worthy noticing that bread was not only expensive, but a luxury
item. 

Wheat
would arrive in bags made of leather and a sample has recently been placed on
the floor. &nbsp;To the right, an armoire du bluteau<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]-->
is ready to receive the recently-arrived wheat. A slave will operate it by means of a lever, producing a
bothering sound (Cette machine, mise un
movement par un Nègre, incommode de son bruit les voisins et les passants,
pendant une grande partie de la journée, p 273).

The author justifies the small number of bakers and the
scarcity of bread due to the ‘general usage of manioc meal instead of wheat’ (L’usage général de la farine de manioc, au
lieu de celle de froment, faisait de notre profession de Boulanger, au Brésil,
une industrie de luxe, p. 273). Indeed,
other authors remark that manioc meal was often a substitute for bread. Von
Martius (2008) states that ‘mesmo o pão
de trigo come-o o brasileiro moderadamente e prefere-lhe a sua farinha’ (Brazilians
hardly ever eat wheat bread and would rather have their (manioc) flour, p.
288.). Luccock (2008) is also rather adamant in this regard: ‘em lugar do pão, usam de farinha de mandioca’
(instead of bread, they (Brazilians) use manioc meal, p. 194). The following
session will present a second replacement for the wheat flour, the corn flour.




Jean-Baptiste
Debret, The Bakery, circa 1820-1830 .Watercolor 15.5 x 22cm. 

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MinC




<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.5&nbsp; <!--[endif]-->The
corn vendor

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The black woman
selling roasted corn is a freed woman who has her own business, as opposed to
the other woman, who sells corn for her master and is supplying the freed woman
with input.&nbsp; A black girl carrying a baby
is enjoying a piece of corn recently purchased. Next to her are three rocks on
the ground which served as a cooking facility the previous evening. The author
describes the details of what had been cooked on that fire – a ragout of black beans and a piece of toucinho, topped with manioc meal.
Without knowing, Debret is describing the ancestor of the most symbolic
Brazilian dish – the feijoada.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition to being roasted on its cob,
corn has several other uses in the country. What the vendor is selling is green
corn, whose grains may also be removed from the cob and cooked like peas, according to the author. It
is worth noticing that Europeans often attempted to establish a resemblance
between exotic food from the tropics and the food they were familiarized with.
That attempt may explain why some American foods became popular in Europe while
others were not immediately incorporated into the European diet.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Debret did not
seem to be familiarized with corn, or at least with popcorn, given the
extremely detailed description he makes of it. He goes on describing corn meal,
corn floor, canjica and other corn
by-products and dishes. Interestingly, he states that corn is quite present in
the food habits of Mineiros (Minas
Gerais natives), and how they substitute wheat flour for corn flour to make
bread (les mineiros mangent habituelment
du gâteau de farine de blé de Turquie, en guise de pain. p. 201). Even
today, corn flour broas are a typical
patisserie item from Minas Gerais.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;




Jean-Baptiste
Debret, The Corn vendor, 1820 .Watercolor 15.7 x 21.9cm. 





Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MiNC








<!--[endif]-->&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 4. Conclusion

During fifteen years living in Rio de Janeiro in the early
19th century, the French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret created an unprecedented
and perhaps matchless rapport of Brazilian society through hundreds of
paintings, drawings, portrays, watercolors, and other works of art. His innumerous
accounts of the Brazilian eating habits in the period provide a one of a kind
list of fruits, staple foods, meats, dishes, drinks, and customs in addition to
an astounding amount of information on the commerce of foods, where they were
purchased, how they were sold, and who ate them.

It becomes important to point out that his written work Voyage pittoresque et historique au Brésil,
which he wrote upon his return in France between 1834 and 1839, far complements his artistic work. It
is because of his detailed accounts that we understand who the people in his
watercolors are, and what they represent in Brazilian society. Because of the
book, for instance, we know whether a black woman selling food on the street is
a freed or an enslaved person. We understand better for whom the black people
frequenting the shops are buying food – themselves or their masters. And the
details of his descriptions come to the point of writing a list of which
ingredients are in a hot pot of food, boiling on a street corner of Rio.

Such richness of details allows us to design a
significantly well-structured scheme of the eating habits of the Brazilian
people in the 19th century. Hence one of the primary conclusions
which may be drawn, the abyss between what ate the upper and middle class and
the enslaved men. And by comparing the current food habits of Brazilians today,
it is quite clear that, on the one hand, the lower classes changed their food
habits as a means of social ascent. The exclusiveness of white bread at that
time, for example, has faded away as it is today a common breakfast item on
every Brazilian table. On the other hand, the manioc meal, a food item which
has often been associated with slavery and therefore rather despised by the
upper class, has gained value and experiences a revival in the most notorious
restaurants of Brazil.

In sum, an interesting sociological conclusion may be drawn
from these findings, which is the fact that food items go through cycles of
consumption and desire. The poor desire a food item that is normally consumed
by the rich, and acquire the means to consume that food. The rich, in turn,
lose interest in that food item since it is no longer exclusive. On the other
end of the cycle, the rich desire a popular food item which has historically
been consumed by the poor, but they make it seem luxurious by stratifying it. 

What I am calling “the cycle of food consumption and desire”
was not developed in Brazil for it has been exemplified in other places, such
as Europe, and in other times, such as the Middle and Modern Ages. Take the
example of pepper in the Middle Ages, which stopped being used by the rich as
it became accessible to the poor (Laurioux, 2002), or the example of white
bread, formerly the food of the French elite, but today an extremely popular
item in France. Finally, the cycle of food consumption and desire may provide
interesting sociological explanation of the reasons why people change their
eating habits, as it may equally foresee which foods will be fashionable in the
future.

Paulo Seidl
Tours, April, 2016

Disclaimer: This is the fruit of intellectual production. When quoting, please provide appropriate academic reference.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

<!--[endif]-->&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 5. References

Debret, J.B. 2014 (1834, 1839). Voyage Historique et Picturesque au Brésil, (Introduction by
Leenhardt, J.). Arles, Impremeries
Nacionales



Derby, O. 2008. Farinha de milho e mandioca em São Paulo e
Minas Gerais. In&nbsp;



Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (p 208).
São Paulo, Global Editora.



Desoer, F.J. (ed), 1767. Petite Encyclopedie ou les elemmens de connaissances humaines. Liège.
In https://books.google.com.br/books?id=J_hWAAAAcAAJ&amp;pg=PP9&amp;lpg=PP9&amp;dq=Desoer+F+J+petite+encyclopedie&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=TtY4Cairsf&amp;sig=jot8JVcOfvU0MUXTh36wi9x7MtU&amp;hl=pt-BR&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiXy5_nruPLAhXM1hoKHZ46CgoQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&amp;q=Desoer%20F%20J%20petite%20encyclopedie&amp;f=false



Freyre, G. 1974 (1952). Mâitres et esclaves. Paris,
Gallimard.



Gomes, L. 2007. 1808. São Paulo, Ed. Planeta.



Koster, H., 2008. Refeições no Nordeste. In Cascudo, L. C.
Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 199 to 202). São Paulo, Global Editora.



Laurioux, B. 2002. Manger au Moyen Âge.
Pratiques et discours alimentaires en Europe aux XIVe et XVe siècles. Paris, Hachette.



Luccock, J., 2008. As refeições no Rio de Janeiro no princípio
do século XIX. In&nbsp;

Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 194
to 198). São Paulo, Global Editora.



Marcgrave, J. 2008. Cardápio do indígena nordestino. In
Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 284 to 287). São Paulo,
Global Editora.



Rodrigues, D. 1808. A arte da cozinha. Rio de Janeiro, Typ.
J. J. Barroso.

Saint-Hilaire, A., 2008. O passadio em Minas Gerais. In Cascudo,
L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 203 to 205). São Paulo, Global Editora.



Von Martius, C. F. F., 2008. Dieta carioca em 1817. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil
(pp 288 to 289) . São Paulo, Global Editora.



http://museuscastromaya.com.br/colecoes/brasiliana/
last visited April 01, 2016








<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->

<!--[endif]-->




<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--> The author uses the phrase l’huile de coco d’Inde à couleur d’or et au goût de beurre frais,
which I interpret as raw palm oil.



<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]-->Desoer, in his 1767 Petite Encyclopedie, describes a bluteau as ‘une espèce
d’armoire basse et longue, pour passer Le bled moulu au moulin &amp; en séparer
le son.’