AbstractTheFrench painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil for fifteen years,provided significant input to the study of the countrys food habits of theearly 19th century through a number of watercolors portraying Braziliansociety. The consumption of manioc meal as a substitute for bread stands out amongother staple foods, such as corn, rice, meat, and beans.Keywords: Debret, manioc meal, Brazilian food habitsResumoO pintor frances Jean-Baptiste Debret, que habitou asterras brasileiras por 15 anos, deixou uma serie de informacoes para o estudodos habitos alimentares do pais no inicio do seculo XIX por meio de diversasaquarelas sobre a sociedade brasileira. E notavel o consumo de farinha demandioca como substituto do pao, entre outros alimentos de base como o milho, oarroz, a carne e o feijao.Palavras chave : Debret, farinha de mandioca, habitosalimentares brasileiros 1. IntroductionThe objective of this paper is to provideinput on Brazilian food habits in the 19th century, in light of thework of the French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil for 15years. Debret depicted the daily life of the Brazilians with significant detailsthrough landscapes, still-lives, slaves, their masters, and the Brazilianmulti-ethnic society of that period. Nothing escaped the fine perception of aman who not only painted portrays, but also, at times with a rather criticalview, looked into the souls of the Brazilians and their lives.It goes without saying that representationsof food are omnipresent in Debrets work. Tropical fruit that did not exist inEurope are often painted in still-lives. Enslaved black men or women working orselling 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 Courtequally stood out in his work.2. 2. TheartistJean Baptiste Debret was born in Paris in1768, and died in the same city in1848. He came to Rio de Janeiro in 1817 wherehe lived until 1831, to participate in the French Artistic Mission, commandedby the Portuguese King D. John VI. The purpose of the mission was to increment thearts 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 criticalin the history of the country. Debret witnessed the wake of a nation, and thus portrayeda number of significant events, such as the arrival of the Austrian princessDona 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 resignationand departure for Portugal, among other important historical events. As one of the most important painters ofthe First Empire, Debret was extremely interested in peoples daily life.Cultural aspects of Brazilian society, like music and dance, street scenes withpeople of all walks of life, the lush tropical vegetation that surrounded thecity of Rio de Janeiro or the Portuguese-style architecture are some of theexamples of the representations that appear in his work.Naturally, a good number of his paintingsare dedicated to food. A great deal of still-lives of tropical fruit andvegetables that did not exist in Europe has been depicted. He also paintedscenes of meat trade, food vendors, street markets, the life in