Roberto Burle Marx
Tribute to Burle Marx, 2014
The creator of the Modern Garden (1909—1994) 1.1 The artist
His early years Life Awards:
1941. Gold medal for painting. National School of Fine Art, Rio de Janeiro
1960. Gold medal. International flower show, Trieste, Italy
1982. Doctor Honoris causa. Royal College of Art, London
1985. ASLA Medal. American Society of Landscape, Cincinatti, USA
1991. Leonardo da Vinci Prize. World Award for Arts. State University, Rio de Janeiro
Roberto Burle Marx was born in São Paulo in 1909 and was the 4th son of a family of 6; his mother, Cecilia Burle came from an old Brazilian family of French and English descent. She had a special love for arts and began to train Roberto’s voice and develop his talent for singing. His father, Wilhelm Marx, was a cultured German Jew who taught his children literature and languages. 1.2 Roberto Burle Marx, 1919
From Singer to Landscape Arquitect
And many more...
Content: His Early years
1
From Singer to Landscape Architect
1
His Style
2
His Design Principles
2,3
His work
3
His Gardens
3,4
Bibliography
4
At the age of 4, his family moved to Rio de Janeiro and bought a large house; their family included Anna Piascek, a Hungarian plants woman whom Burle Marx grew to love like a second mother. Roberto learned from his family how to recognize flowers and nursed his first beds of Bromeliads and other low growing plants collected from the hillside along the seafront.
At the age of 18, his family decided to go to Germany and settled in Berlin. During this year, he abandoned his musical aspirations after being strongly impressed by Vincent Van Gogh’s painting. Burle Marx was determined to become a painter so he enrolled in art school one year later. In search of subjects, he visited Dahlem Botanical Gardens and was astonished by the exuberance of the extraordinary specimens of Brazilian tropical flora growing as curiosities in glasses. Since then, he was convinced he should be growing them back in Brazil. The Marx family decided to return to Rio in 1929. The time spent in Germany was enough for Roberto to capture the essence of his committed
art. In 1930, he entered the National School of Fine Arts in Rio to study art while continuing his hobby of gardening. At that time, the school combined Architecture with courses in painting and sculpture, so he was brought into contact with architectural students and lecturers such as Lúcio Costa who exerted the greatest influence on Roberto’s career.
subsequently, Costa invited him to design the garden of Alfredo Schwartz residence in the district of Copacabana. His first commissioned design which was somewhat timid, restricting the plant beds to regular shapes; this experience conducted him into the field of modernism where he was to become a leading figure a few years later
His life as a Landscape architect started around 1932, when he travelled to Recife and began to create compositions, still rectilinear and academic, initially in his garden, then at the homes of his relatives and friends and later in public spaces. In 1934, B.M was appointed director of the parks and gardens in Recife; 1.3 Roberto Burle marx, 1956