The Art of Generosity - The Story of a Painter and a Benefactor

More than a century ago, in 1875, my great-grandfather Antonio Bardi -- then 13 years old -- met by chance in Florence the Brazilian artist and scientist Pedro Amerigo. For some reason, the Brazilian gentleman thought that the boy had some artistic talent and he helped him to study in the Florentine Academy of Art. This story is part of the family lore, but it also appeared in the newspapers. And, recently, Marcilio Franca wrote about it in a Brazilian newspaper.

Here it is the piece by Franca, translated into English -- the Portuguese original follows

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The Art of Generosity
by Marcilio Franca
Visiting Professor at the University of Turin


It was a hot morning on Monday, August 9, 1875, when Turin's Gazzetta Piemontese newspaper brought good news to its readers.

The cover emphasized that, a few days before, a small boy was drawing in front of the Uffizi in Florence, when he happened to meet by Pedro Américo, the great Brazilian painter who, a year before, lived a few blocks from the museum created by the Medici.

The news was that, on the way to the convent of Santissima Annunziata, where he held an atelier to paint the gigantic "The Battle of Avaí", commissioned by Pedro II, Américo found a poor boy who was able to draw at ease popular drawings in exchange for the generosity of the passers-by. Americo noticed the young man's talent and asked where he was studying. The boy, described by Gazzetta as sad-eyed, thin and pale-faced, reported that he lacked the conditions to go to school. Antonio Bardi was thirteen. The boy's embarrassed response followed Pedro Américo's offer: he would pay for his studies thereafter. Yes!

A few days ago, I had a chance to exchange some words with the great-grandson of that great-uncle's son-in-law. Ugo Bardi, Professor at the University of Florence, told me that Americo made hisgreat-grandfather apprentice and then helped him enter the exclusive Accademia Fiorentina. Thanks to the Brazilian godfather, he broke the life of poverty that had lasted for some generations in his home.
 
Antonio Bardi painted for almost thirty years, until a disease in sight at the age of 45 forced him to stop. He died in 1924, married and with several children.
 
What neither Bardi nor Gazzetta knew was that Pedro Américo, with the gesture, revived his own destiny. A prodigal boy in the tiny Sand, in the interior of Paraíba, Americo was not even ten when, in 1852, he was discovered by the French naturalist Louis Jacques Brunet. There began the profession that led him to win the world.

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A Arte da Generosidade

Marcilio Franca

Era uma manhã quente de segunda-feira, 9 de agosto de 1875, quando o jornal Gazzetta Piemontese, de Turim, chegou aos seus leitores com uma boa notícia.

A capa destacava que, dias antes, um menino franzino desenhava em frente ao Uffizi, em Florença, ao ser interpelado por Pedro Américo, o grande pintor brasileiro que, há um ano, morava a algumas quadras do museu criado pelos Medici.

A notícia dava conta de que, a caminho do convento de Santissima Annunziata, onde mantinha um ateliê para pintar a gigantesca “A Batalha do Avaí”, encomendada por Pedro II, Américo deparou-se com um garoto pobre que desenhava com desenvoltura temas de agrado popular, em troca da generosidade dos passantes. Américo notou o talento do jovem e perguntou onde ele estudava. O menino, descrito pela Gazzetta como de olhos tristes, rosto magro e empalidecido, informou que lhe faltavam condições para ir à escola. Antônio Bardi tinha treze anos. À resposta encabulada do garoto seguiu-se a oferta de Pedro Américo: pagaria seus estudos a partir de então. Sim!
Há poucos dias, tive a chance de trocar umas palavras com o bisneto daquele menino da notícia. Ugo Bardi, Professor da Universidade de Florença, contou-me que Américo fez do seu bisavô aprendiz e, depois, o ajudou a entrar na disputada Accademia Fiorentina. Graças ao padrinho brasileiro, rompeu a vida de pobreza que já durava algumas gerações em seu lar.  
Antônio Bardi pintou por quase trinta anos, até que uma doença na vista, por volta dos 45 anos, forçou-o a parar. Veio a falecer casado e com filhos, em 1924.
O que nem os Bardi nem a Gazzetta sabiam é que Pedro Américo, com o gesto, revivia o seu próprio destino. Menino prodígio na pequenina Areia, interior da Paraíba, Américo não tinha sequer dez anos quando, em 1852, foi descoberto pelo naturalista francês Louis Jacques Brunet. Começava ali a profissão que o levou a ganhar o mundo.

Professor Visitante da Universidade de Turim