THE FEMALE PRODUCTION OF PIAUI RELIGIOUS CARVING BY TOINHA VIEIRA

Formal and iconographic analysis

Abstract

Throughout the state of Piauí there is a significant production of devotional sculpture, called santeira art. In this scenario, impregnated with etiquette and mysticism, from a colonial past, a predominant male sculptors production is evident. However, in this panorama the presence of women is present by Antônia Marques Vieira, Toinha Vieira. This art began as a child when he modeled a complete nativity scene in beeswax. From that beginning, he began to experiment
with clay, the material of which he collected from the banks of the Marathaoan River.. From her hands came dolls in clay that, after being clothed in fabrics, populated the universe of children in her hometown. From 1975 this artist began to carve wood, choosing the Marian iconography preferentially. This work analyze an iconography of Toinha Vieira's saint production. We made use of descriptive and explanatory methodology using as a methodology the field research with testimonies of his contemporaries of Piauí santeira art, as well as the bibliographical references that is very scarce about
his work. Her sculptures reveal a hieratic and solemn expression, making it possible to establish an analog connection with medieval Gothic saints. Finally, his devotional sculptural art has contributed to Piauí's projection on the sacred art scene, when his participation in national and international exhibitions.