Tapestry
Created by Francisco Brennand
Brazil, 1973
Cotton tapestry with wooden rod support

Measurements
96 x 97h cm
37,8 x 38,2h in

Provenance
Private collection, Brazil

Edition
Unique piece

Literature
“Francisco Brennand: Oficina e Cerâmica,” Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, Recife, 2003
Ferreira Gullar, Francisco Brennand, Salamandra Editorial, Rio de Janeiro, 1992

About
Created in 1973, this cotton tapestry by Francisco Brennand (1927–2019) presents a stylized floral emblem framed by a rhythmic geometric border. Executed in warm earthy tones, the composition reflects Brennand’s enduring fascination with organic forms, symmetry, and the symbolic potential of ornament. The initials "FB" and the date, delicately integrated into the design, suggest both authorship and a sense of timeless craftsmanship.
Best known for his architectural ceramic installations, Brennand also explored textiles as an extension of his visual language. In this tapestry, the tactile surface and measured repetition echo the meditative qualities of his ceramic works, while offering a more intimate, domestic scale. The piece embodies a quiet balance between the ornamental and the sacred, the intuitive and the structured.

Biography
Francisco Brennand (1927–2019) was a Brazilian artist known for his prolific work in sculpture, ceramics, painting, and drawing. Born in Recife, Pernambuco, he developed a distinctive symbolic and organic visual language, often rooted in mythological and sacred themes. Trained initially as a painter in Europe, Brennand later turned to ceramics, transforming his family’s tile factory into the Oficina Brennand—a sprawling, fantastical studio complex and sculpture park.
His work defies strict categorization, merging modernist abstraction with primal symbolism and elements of Afro-Brazilian and indigenous cosmologies. Over decades, he created a universe of recurring motifs—ovoid forms, hybrid creatures, solar emblems—that explore ideas of fertility, memory, and spiritual transformation. Brennand's legacy is deeply entwined with the cultural identity of northeastern Brazil and occupies a central place in 20th-century Latin American art.