Brazil Nears Total Restoration of Art Damaged in 2023 Insurrection

Brazil’s government has nearly completed its restoration of hundreds of artworks and objects that were vandalized during the 2023 insurrection, the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) announced earlier this month. 

The collection, which includes contemporary and historical artworks, design objects, and artifacts, was targeted on January 8, 2023, when riots erupted in Brasília following the defeat of then-president Jair Bolsonaro by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the general election. Some 4,000 Bolsonaro supporters stormed several federal buildings with the intention of inciting a military coup d’état, causing $4 million worth of damage. Around 1,300 people have since been prosecuted for their involvement.

The $400,000 restoration project is led by the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), with support from Iphan and the curatorial director of the presidential palaces, among other organizations. The final stage of the project involves 11 paintings, six of which have already been repaired. Experts are currently focused on As Mulatas (1962) by the painter Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, which is valued at $1.5 million and was stabbed seven times during the riots. As Mulatas is expected to be fully restored by September. Nine other works, variably made of wood, iron, and paper, are also nearing the final stages of their respective restoration processes. 

“Each of them is missing some details, such as the final varnish, for example,” the project’s coordinator, Andrea Bachettini, said in a statement. “We also still need to complete the scientific documentation of each piece.”

The majority of the conservation and restoration work is underway in a lab installed on the premises of the Palácio da Alvorada, the official residence of the president of Brazil. One work, a 1973 tapestry by Roberto Burle Marx, which rioters tore and urinated upon, is being restored offsite. 

In addition to the repairs, Iphan and UFPel are developing public programming that illuminates their nearly two-year-long process, with the aim of bettering preservation efforts in Brazil. The series will include technical lectures, a photography exhibition, and the launch of an art book and documentary. On the first anniversary of the insurrection, a group of artworks and objects recovered from the government buildings were displayed in the Palácio do Congresso Nacional, some still bearing signs of the damage inflicted. 

“Heritage Education actions like this one, an exhibition and the launch of an art book and documentary will be the results of all the work carried out in the restoration laboratory, important for us to raise awareness among the public about the preservation of Brazilian heritage,” Bachettini said.