Geometry of the Sacred. The Symbol System of the Brazilian Artist Rubem Valentim

Rubem Valentim (Brazil, Salvador, 1922 – Brazil, São Paulo, 1991), a Brazilian artist, professor, art journalist and critic, gained worldwide recognition in the 20^th century as an abstract artist, representing Afro-Brazilian culture in his paintings.

Many researchers have characterized Valentim’s art as concrete, placing his geometric abstractionism in a modernist frame and lining it to the development of concretism and neo-concretism in Brazil. In recent decades, more and more attention in research articles has been paid to the role of the symbolism of Brazilian syncretic cults in the visual style of the painter. An integrated approach to the study of Valentim’s creative heritage represents the artist’s appeal to the image of candomblé as an experiment of an artist and thinker, who is part of this religion, designed to introduce Afro-Brazilian culture into the international art context.

This essay examines the creative method of R. Valentim, highlighting the main stages of his biography and work and tracking the evolution of his method and the formation of its mechanisms. Influenced by the trends taking place in world art, the artist develops an understanding of his own style, which several decades later is formalized in the manifesto. Local artistic trends and especially the visual code of the Afro-Brazilian cult of candomblé form the basis of what over the years develops into a unique sign system. The uniqueness of R. Valentim’s system lies in its universal character. It exists in the global context, forming part of abstract art primarily through associations, and at the local level there is also the recognition effect.

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