B R A Z I L I A N
FO L K A R T
José Francisco Borges
Room 2a - Large Prints |
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Artist and poet José Francisco Borges was born in 1935 in the village of Bezerros, Pernambuco state, in Northeastern Brazil. Today Borges is Brazil's best-known folk artist working in the wood-cut medium, and his work has been exhibited all over the world. But he comes out of a long tradition of folk poet/artists who publish their own work in the form of small (generally about 6" by 9") cheap chap-books or pamphlets written in verse, known as folhetos. They are also known as literatura de cordel after the way vendors sell them in the marketplace, hanging over a string. This tradition (including the work of Borges) is described in detail by Candace Slater in her book Stories on a String.
O Cordelista na Feira (Cordelista at the Fair)
José Francisco Borges
Marion Oettinger, Jr. describes these folhetos in his book The Folk Art of Latin America: Visiones del Pueblo: "Brazilian chap books deal with popular poetry, accounts of local catastrophes, popular legends, famous crimes, and infamous love affairs. The Man who Married a Donkey, The Son Who Murdered His Parents in Order to Get His Hands on Their Retirement Benefit, The Football Game in Hell, and The Overturned Bus Disaster are examples of the alluring titles found in a typical marketplace. The front of these pamplets usually contain wood-block illustrations of the book's contents, and they, in themselves, form a special type of folk expression.... Frequently, chap book vendors sing the songs in their books or read aloud the contents of their books to market crowds, many of whom are illiterate, and their voices usually draw enormous gatherings."
José Francisco Borges began writing verse for folhetos in his 20s, and soon also began to operate a printing press to produce woodcut prints for their covers. In the 1960s his woodcuts came to be recognized in their own right. He was encouraged to produce images in larger formats, in color as well as the more traditional black and white.But even in larger formats, his prints reflect the same popular themes, such as The Honeymoon of Matuto (an archetypal back-country bumpkin), The Monster of the Backlands, The Woman who Put the Devil in a Bottle, and many tales of the legendary bandit Lampiao.
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Jose Francisco Borges, 2005
from the New York Tmes article:
"The Traveling Troubadors of Brazil's Backlands"
June 14, 2005
Jose Francisco Borges and Ivan Borges demonstrate printing at the International Folk Art market in Santa Fe, July, 2005 (Photo by A H Fisher)
Detail of woodblock by Jose Miguel (Photo by A H Fisher).
Jose Francisco Borges
Bezerros, Pernambuco, Brazil, 1990
(from Marion Oettinger, Jr., The Folk Art of
Latin America: Visiones del Pueblo
A Arte de J. Borges do Cordel a Xilografia/ The Art of J. Borges from Cordel to Woodcuts
José Octavio Penteado, Tania Mills, Pieter Tjabbes
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasilia, 2004
104 pages
Text in Portuguese and English, extensive illustrations
$60 (paperback)
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Borges' work has now been exhibited all over Brazil as well as in Paris, Zurich, Buenos Aires and in Germany and the United States. The Louvre, the Smithsonian and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe have exhibited Borges' work. Borges also collaborated with the noted Uruguayan author, Eduardo Galeano, providing fanciful illustrations for his collection of equally fanciful tales, Walking Words. You may read more about Borges in the New York Times article, "From Brazil's Backlands, a Master of a Folk Tradition" (March 27, 2002).
Still more recently, the New York Times carried an excellent article on the cordel tradition, featuring Borges and others, "The Traveling Troubadors of Brazil's Backlands" (June 14, 2005).
Note: Each impression of a print is unique. Colors may vary slightly from the image shown here. Additional copies of prints marked SOLD may be available, though it may take some time to obtain them from Brazil. Please feel free to inquire about availability.
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Achegada da Prostituta no Ceu (The Prostitute's Arrival in Heaven)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2004
Woodcut print on paper (14 1/2 x 21 1/2)
Colors may vary
$120 (also available in black and white |
O Casamento do Diabo (The Devil's Wedding)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2004
Woodcut print on paper (11 1/2 x 19)
$120 SOLD 2/06 |
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A Mulher Sertaneja
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2003
Woodcut print on paper (11 3/4 x 9 1/2)
$75 |
Santo Expedito
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2004
Woodcut print on paper (20 x 9 1/2)
$120C |
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Iemanja
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2006
Woodcut print on paper (11 x 19 1/2)
$110 |
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Iemanja
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2006
Woodcut print on paper (11 x 19 1/2)
$110 |
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A Revoada
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2004
Woodcut print (color) on paper (19 1/2 x 11 1/2)
$120 SOLD 5/05 |
Sertao sem Agua (The Sertao witnout Water)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2004
Woodcut print (color) on paper (21 x 13)
$120 SOLD 6/05 |
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A Mulher eo Diabo
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2003
Woodcut print on paper (10 x 8)
$75 |
Lua de Mel de Matuto (Matuto's Honeymoon)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2002
Woodcut print on paper (19 1/2 x 13 1/2)
$110 |
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Piquenique Na Mata
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (19 1/2 x 12), 2005
$110 |
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Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (18 1/2 x 10), 2005
$110 |
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O Contador de Mentiras
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (14 1/2 x 21 1/2), 2005
$120 |
Fujindo da Seca
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (12 1/2 x 18), 2005
$120 |
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O Casado Namorador (The Married Lover)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (12 1/2 x 20), 2005
$120 |
Meia Noite No Cabare
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (11 1/2 x 19), 1994
$120
SOLD |
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A Mulher Valente (The Brave Woman)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (19 x 12), 2005
$120 SOLD 8/06 |
Sto. Antonio Casamenteiro
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (20 x 11 1/4), 2004
$120 |
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O Passaro Valente (The Brave Bird)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (21 1/4 x 14 1/4), 2005
$120 SOLD 6/06 |
O Dragao (The Dragon)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (20 1/4 x 11 1/4), 2005
$120 SOLD 1/06 |
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Cantadores de Violas
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (19 1/2 x 12 3/4), 2005
$120 |
O Sol Quente No Sertao
José Francisco Borges (Brazil),
Woodcut print on paper (19 1/2 x 12), 2007
$110 |
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Amor Prazer e Bebida (Love, Pleasure and Drink)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2004
Woodcut print on paper (13 x 20 1/2)
$110
SOLD 5/08 |
O Trio dos Anjos (Three Angels)
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2006
Woodcut print on paper (13 3/4 x 19 3/4)
$110 SOLD 8/06 |
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O Casamento do Cachorro
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2007
Woodcut print on paper (20 1/2 x 14)
$110
SOLD 5/08 |
De Madrugada no Bordel
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2007
Woodcut print on paper (14 1/4 x 20 3/4)
$110
SOLD 4/08 |
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O Curador de Cobra
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2007
Woodcut print on paper (14 3/4 x 21 1/2)
$110 |
O Criador de Passarinhos
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2007
Woodcut print on paper (15 x 20 1/4)
$110
SOLD 12/07 |
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A Vida na Floresta
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2007
Woodcut print on paper (13 x 20 1/2)
$110 |
Terreiro de Macumba
José Francisco Borges (Brazil), 2000
Woodcut print on paper (19 3/4 x 13)
$110 |
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