Jean-Baptiste Debret (; 18 April 1768 – 28 June 1848) was a French painter, who produced many valuable lithographs depicting the people of Brazil. Debret won the second prize at the 1798 Salon des Beaux Arts. He is the Patron of the 22nd chair of the Brazilian Academy of Fine Arts.

Biography

thumb|left|First remittance of the [[Légion d'Honneur, 15 July 1804, at Saint-Louis des Invalides, by Jean-Baptiste Debret, 1812]]

Debret studied at the French Academy of Fine Arts, a pupil of the great Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825) to whom he was related. He accompanied David to Rome in the 1780s. His debut was at the Salon des Beaux Arts of 1798, where he got the second prize. The first designs were tested in 1821, at the same time that tensions between Portugal and Brazil over the return of the court to the Portuguese metropolis were running high, and if they occurred, Brazil would be downgraded to the status of Viceroyalty. The flag of the Empire of Brazil was somewhat similar to the current one, with the following differences:

  • The current blue dome under the yellow diamond with stars and a band with the words “order and progress” gave way to a green neoclassical or continental shield, and inside it a circular blue band with stars representing the provinces, the cross of the Order of Christ, and the armillary sphere above the cross. Above the neoclassical shield hung the imperial crown, symbol of the national regime, and surrounding the shield were two branches arranged like laurel, bearing coffee fruit and flowering tobacco, symbols of the country's riches.
  • The size of the golden yellow diamond was significantly larger, and its points bordered the edges of the green plane of the flag.

Contrary to current beliefs, the flag's colors and designs had their own historical meanings, which were later overshadowed by the republic. These are:

  • Green represents the House of Braganza, the family of Pedro I;
  • Yellow refers to the House of Habsburg, the family of Leopoldina.

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File:Esboço da primeira bandeira do Brasil Independente (Debret - 1820).png|link=https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficheiro:Esbo%C3%A7o_da_primeira_bandeira_do_Brasil_Independente_(Debret_-_1820).png |One of the first sketches of the Brazilian flag, by Jean-Baptiste Debret, circa 1820, probably designed to be the standard of the Prince Royal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves.

File:Flag of Kingdom of Brazil.png|link=https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficheiro:Flag_of_Kingdom_of_Brazil.png |Flag of the Kingdom of Brazil (7 September to 1 December 1822)

</gallery>

<gallery widths=200 heights=165>

File:Loja de Sapateiro Aquarela Jac by Jean-Baptiste Debret 1820-1830.jpg|Loja de Sapateiro (Shoe Shop), before 1830

File:Famille d’un Chef Camacan se préparant pour une Fête.jpg|Famille d’un Chef Camacan se préparant pour une Fête, c. 1820-1830

File:Debretberimbau.jpg|Uruncungo Player

File:L'Exécution de la Punition de Fouet by Jean-Baptiste Debret.jpg|“L’exécution de la Punition du Fouet” (“Execution of the Punishment of the Whip”)

File:A Brazilian family in Rio de Janeiro by Jean-Baptiste Debret 1839.jpg|Family dining

File:Slavery in Brazil, by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848).jpg|“Feitors corrigeant des nègres” (“Plantation overseers disciplining blacks”)

File:E70 p22.jpg|Black women (1835)

File:Debret2.jpg|Charrúa warrior

File:Debret - Carga de cavalaria guaicuru.jpg|Carga de Cavalaria Guaicuru, 1822

File:Caboclo by Jean-Baptiste Debret 1834 2FXD.jpg|Caboclo, 1834

File:Debret - Chefe Camacan Mongoyo.jpg|Chefe Camacan Mongoyo, c. 1834-1839

File:Debret3.jpg|A family of Native Americans

File:Le Signal de Combat - Coroados (Bororo).jpg|Battle signal of the Coroados, c. 1834-1839

File:Le Signal de la Retraite - Coroados (Bororos).jpg|Retreat Signal of the Coroados, c. 1834-1839

File:L'Exécution de la Punition de Fouet et Negres ao Tronco by Jean-Baptiste Debret.jpg|L'Exécution de la Punition du Fouet (top) Nègres ào Tronco (bottom), before 1830

</gallery>

References

  • Facsimile of the 3 books(color, black& white) and scans of 250 lithographs
  • DezenoveVinte - Arte Brasileira do século XIX e início do XX