João Timóteo da Costa

João Timóteo da Costa was an Afro-Brazilian painter and decorative artist.

He was born in Rio de Janeiro. His brother, Arthur Timótheo da Costa, was also a painter. They initially worked together as apprentices at the Brazilian Mint in Rio de Janeiro, where they designed stamps and created prints. He entered the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes in 1894, where his instructors included Rodolfo Amoedo, João Zeferino da Costa and Daniel Bérard (1846-1910).

He participated in the Exposições Gerais de Belas Artes on numerous occasions after 1906, winning several prizes; including the small gold medal.

In 1911, together with his brother and the brothers Carlos and Rodolfo Chambelland, he worked on decorating the Brazilian pavilion at the Turin International exhibition, and remained in Italy for more than a year.

Among his other notable decorative works were the headquarters of the Fluminense Football Club, the Noble Hall of the Tiradentes Palace and murals at Copacabana Palace, all in Rio de Janeiro.

His brother went insane, dying prematurely in 1920, and his daughter died at the age of six. He never fully recovered from these tragedies and also became mentally ill. He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1932, in the Hospício Pedro II; the same psychiatric hospital where his brother had died.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023