Monument to the Bandeiras

Monument to the Bandeiras is a large-scale granite sculpture by the Italian-Brazilian sculptor Victor Brecheret (1894-1955) at the entrance of Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo, Brazil.[1] It was commissioned by the government of São Paulo in 1921 and completed in 1954. It commemorates the 17th-century bandeiras, or slave and gold hunting expeditions into the interior of Brazil, and the bandeirantes that participated in them. The monument is huge and in a prominent location, making it an easily identifiable part of the landscape of São Paulo.[2]

The Monument to the Flags
Portuguese: O Monumento às Bandeiras
Monument to the Bandeiras, front view
ArtistVictor Brecheret
Year1921
MediumGranite

The monument was erected in the south-central area of the city in the Praça Armando de Salles Oliveira (Armando de Salles Oliveira Square), opposite the Palácio 9 de Julho, headquarters of the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo.

Controversy

The monument has been the subject of criticism for neglecting the darker side of the bandeirantes, who killed and enslaved indigenous people, though most of the Bandeirantes were mixed-race, and their troops were composed of indigenous warriors.[3] The monument regularly attracts vandalism, such as red paint symbolizing blood.[4] Others have noted the high cost of a day to maintain and clean the monument of graffiti.[5] In the wake of the toppling of the Statue of Edward Colston in 2020 as part of the global George Floyd protests, the monument has come under renewed criticism for its celebration of slavers and demands for its removal.[6]

  • Monumento às Bandeiras

References
  1. Araujo, Ana, ed. (2012). Politics of Memory : Making Slavery Visible in the Public Space. New York: Routledge. p. 202. ISBN 9780415526920.
  2. "Inventário de Obras de Arte em Logradouros Públicos da Cidade de São Paulo: Monumento às Bandeiras" (in Portuguese). São Paulo, Brazil: Prefeitura de São Paulo. 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  3. https://novaescola.org.br/conteudo/2430/mudou-a-imagem
  4. Por que nos importamos com símbolos escravagistas dos EUA e ignoramos os do Brasil?
  5. Em 1 dia, limpeza de Monumento às Bandeiras custou R$ 37 mil
  6. Latin America’s Controversial Statues: Will They Fall?


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