Museu do Ipiranga opens “Debret em questão” exhibition

“Debret em questão” brings together Jean-Baptiste Debret’s works and reinterpretations by 20 contemporary artists starting November 25.

The Museu do Ipiranga opens on November 25 the exhibition “Debret em questão – contemporary perspectives”, a dialogue between the iconography of Imperial Brazil by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768–1848) and the critical reinterpretations of 20 contemporary artists. Curated by Jacques Leenhardt and Gabriela Longman, the show is part of the France–Brazil Season 2025 and offers free admission.

A dialogue between past and present

The exhibition features 35 lithographs from the series Voyage pittoresque et historique au Brésil, produced in Paris between 1834 and 1839. In these images, Debret presents a critical, almost anthropological view of Rio de Janeiro’s slave society—works once rejected by the Brazilian Empire for revealing its violence.

In dialogue with these engravings, contemporary artists create symbolic and critical reinterpretations of identity, memory, and resistance. As Leenhardt explains, “works by Gê Viana, Dalton Paula, and Isabel Löfgren & Patricia Goùvea disarm the violence experienced to make room for the writing of another history.”

New works and artistic dialogues

Highlights include two new works: Jaime Lauriano’s installation Brasil através do espelho and photo series Justiça e Barbárie, which address ethnocide, cultural appropriation, and racial democracy; and Rosana Paulino’s mixed-media triptych Paraíso Tropical, confronting Brazil’s idealized paradise with the realities of extraction and exploitation.

The lineup also includes Anna Bella Geiger, Denilson Baniwa, Sandra Gamarra, Tiago Sant’Ana, Eustáquio Neves, Heberth Sobral, and Valerio Ricci Montani. One room revisits the 1959 Acadêmicos do Salgueiro carnival parade, photographed by Marcel Gautherot.

Historical reinterpretation and critique

In the 19th century, Debret documented the daily life of a slaveholding nation. Over time, his images were decontextualized and reproduced nostalgically. “Once separated from their original text, Debret’s works began to glorify the slave era,” says Paulo Garcez Marins, director of Museu Paulista.

In the 21st century, artists of African and Indigenous descent have begun to reclaim Debret’s imagery, reinterpreting it through a critical and decolonial lens. These new perspectives express a collective will to imagine a future freed from a painful past.

Accessibility and multisensory experience

The exhibition features multisensory and inclusive resources, including tactile dioramas, braille texts, audio description, sign language, and captioned videos. One highlight is a sound device that lets visitors feel the vibration of the Salgueiro samba-enredo, enhancing the immersive experience.

Service

Debret em questão – contemporary perspectives
Curators: Jacques Leenhardt and Gabriela Longman
Dates: November 25, 2025 – May 17, 2026
Venue: Temporary Exhibitions Hall – Museu do Ipiranga
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. (last entry at 4 p.m.)
Free admission
Information: museudoipiranga.org.br