Os Calixtos

The paintings

The center piece The Foundation of the Village of Santos - 1545 shows the moment when the village of Santos was elevated to town status. The genealogy of São Paulo is highlighted through the composition of the characters.

You can see the settler families and the organization of the social structure made up of civil, religious and military groups. The number of buildings that make up the scene indicates Benedicto Calixto's intention to present Brás Cubas not as a founder, but as an official representative of the Portuguese Crown, who legitimizes and organizes the political and judicial institutions of an already consolidated settlement.

The panel depicting the 1822 period, called The Port of Santos in 1822, shows a small town with a few streets and many churches. The few boats and the population concentration restricted to the port region reveal an economic activity that was still developing, based mainly on the export of sugar. In the panel The Port of Santos in 1922, all the transformations triggered by the coffee trade can be seen: the modern port structure, the advent of the railroad and planned urban development. You can also see the architectural changes, from the old, modest colonial buildings to the imposing eclectic-style palaces. The frames depict examples of Brazilian fauna and flora. They were designed by Benedicto Calixto and made by the artist Ângelo Guido.

The stained glass window

The stained glass window The Epic Feats of the Bandeirantes was designed by Benedicto Calixto and made by Casa Conrado, a famous stained glass studio in São Paulo.

It was presented during the inauguration of the Official Coffee Exchange building on September 7, 1922. In this work, the artist used allegories and symbolic configurations to represent the historical periods that characterized the country's economy, politics and urban and social situation. The idea was to make the “first typically Brazilian stained glass window”, with the colors and light of Brazil. The window is divided into three scenes, which represent the three great periods of Brazil's development. In the central scene, entitled Colonial period: The conquest of the sertão by the Bandeirantes, we can see the encounter between the Portuguese Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva, known as Anhanguera (old devil, in Tupi) and the mother of gold who, surrounded by the mothers of water, flaunts the riches of our land in the midst of nature. In the work we can identify figures from Roman mythology and symbols related to economic activities, such as the god Mercury in the panel Industry and commerce and the god Ceres in Farming and abundance.