Musical rescues Black painters erased from history

Forgotten due to racism, brothers João and Arthur Timótheo da Costa get a musical at CCBB Rio de Janeiro opening March 19, 2026.

Pioneers erased from Brazilian art history

João (1879–1932) and Arthur (1882–1922) Timótheo da Costa were among the most important painters in Brazil during the first two decades of the 20th century. Considered forerunners of Brazilian Modernism, both were gradually erased from the country’s art history — as was their grandfather, composer Henrique Alves de Mesquita, who fell from national and international acclaim into total oblivion.

Both brothers faced relentless racial prejudice and died from the same illness — paralytic dementia — at the Hospital dos Alienados in Rio de Janeiro, ten years apart. The same institution where writer Lima Barreto was also committed, directed by Dr. Juliano Moreira, a Black pioneering psychiatrist who fought scientific racism in Brazil.

The musical and its narrative

On stage, the character Irene — played by Jeniffer Dias, nominated for the Prêmio Potências award in 2022 for her role in the Globoplay series “Rensga Hits” — is a contemporary researcher determined to write a play about the brothers. As she digs into their lives, she finds almost no records and uncovers the reality of Black Brazilians after abolition: the racism of Rio’s Belle Époque, a hypocritical society, and a wave of mental illness among Black people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The cast also includes Lucas da Purificação (Disney Plus series “Impuros”), Luciano Quirino (soap opera “Êta, mundo melhor!”), Pablo Áscoli (who portrayed César Camargo Mariano in “Elis, the Musical”) and Sérgio Kauffmann (soap opera “Garota do momento”, 2024/2025).

Live score and dramaturgy

Musical direction is by Muato, winner of the 2024 Shell Award for musical direction of “Pelada – A Hora da Gaymada”. The score draws on compositions by maestro Henrique Alves de Mesquita, performed live by the show’s orchestra. Some pieces received newly written lyrics and will be sung on stage.

The words belong to playwright Cláudia Valli, whose 39-year career spans work at Rede Globo, Record, Multishow, Canal Futura, and other major Brazilian broadcasters. For her, erasure and forgetting “spit in our faces the rejection of an entire society.”

Decolonial storytelling as a mission

Director Luiz Antonio Pilar, recognized at the 34th Shell Award for his direction of the musical “Leci Brandão – Na Palma da Mão”, has made it his mission to bring decolonial narratives to the stage. He has built a career around figures such as Candeia, Ataulfo Alves, and Leci Brandão. “I realized that bringing these people’s stories to the stage also means sharing everything I’ve been through myself,” says Pilar.

The goal, however, is not to portray these figures as victims. “The story we’re going to tell is an investigation. We’ll discover who the Timótheo da Costa brothers really were, beyond the erasure,” the director states. The production previously toured the CCBB venues in Belo Horizonte and Brasília in 2025 and arrives in Rio de Janeiro with support from Brazil’s Ministry of Culture and sponsorship from Banco do Brasil through the Lei Rouanet cultural incentive law.

Showtimes & Tickets

Os Irmãos Timótheo da Costa

Season: March 19 to April 19, 2026

Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 7 PM. Sunday at 6 PM.

Duration: 90 minutes

Venue: Teatro I (ground floor) — Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil RJ — Rua Primeiro de Março, 66, Centro, Rio de Janeiro – RJ

Tickets: BRL 30 (full price) and BRL 15 (half price), available at bb.com.br/cultura and at the CCBB RJ box office

Age rating: 12+

Contact: +55 21 3808-2020 | ccbbrio@bb.com.br

CCBB RJ hours: Wednesday through Monday, 9 AM to 8 PM (closed Tuesdays). On Sundays, 8–9 AM is reserved for visitors with intellectual and/or mental disabilities and their companions (Municipal Law nº 6.278/2017).

Photo: Kessis Sena