Historic Images of Rio Exhibit Opens in Paço Imperial

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The exhibition, O Paço, a praça e o morro (The palace, the square and the hill) opened on Friday, June 24th at the Paço Imperial in Centro. Remaining on display through August 28th, the exhibition showcases the history of the city’s Centro (Central) region through photographs of the area including images of the Imperial Palace, the area now known as Praça XV and Morro do Castelo (Castle Hill), which was demolished in 1922.

The exhibition includes over two hundred images shot by both renowned photographers as well as anonymous photographers during the years between the 1860 and 1930s.

“It’s a visual history of the central region, which is the area where the city developed,” the exhibition’s curator, Sergio Burgi told the press. “They are photographs that captured the evolution of the city in the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, including the demolition of Morro do Castelo. It is a very strong visual record of the important fact that the city decided to remove its foundation.”

The exhibition’s images were curated by Burgi from the Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS-RJ) collection and features images by famous Brazilian photographers including Marc Ferrez, Augusto Malta, Guilherme Santos, and Georges Leuzinger, among others. In addition to the images, the exhibition also includes a camera that belonged to Ferrez, a replica pinhole camera, two negative images, and stereoscopes which allow visitors to view some historic images in 3D.

The O Paço, a praça e o morro exhibition is an offshoot of the exhibition, Exposição Rio: primeiras poses – Visões da cidade a partir da chegada da fotografia (1840-1930)/Exposure: First poses – Views of the city following the arrival of photography (1840-1930), which was displayed in IMS-RJ in 2015.

“We don’t intend to make the exhibition a history lesson,” said Burgi in a release, adding; “we want to contextualize the city’s relationship with the Paço, the square, and Morro do Castelo.”

What: O Paço, a praça e o morro (The palace, the square and the hill) Exhibition
When: June 24th to August 28th, Tuesdays through Sundays 12PM to 7PM until August 4th and 11AM to 7PM August 5th through 28th.
Where: Paço Imperial, Praça Quinze de Novembro, 48 – Centro
Entrance: FREE