The adjective "naïve" is the most frequently used to describe the kind of paintings sometimes called ingenuous and at times primitive (in Brazil). At first, the term was a nickname, as, in other times, painters were called impressionists, cubists, futurists, and so on.

... "They are the anarchical poets of brush"

The naïves are generally self-thaught and are not linked to any school or trend. That is the power of these artists who can paint without rules and free of any constraint. They dare everything. They are "the anarchical poets of brush".

Who are the naïve painters?

Being "naïve" is a state of mind that leads to a personal way of painting. We can find naïve painters among shoe-makers, postmen, housewives, doctors, journalists even diplomats.

Naïve art transcends what is called popular.

Naïve painting in Brazil.

Brazil, together with France, Haiti, Italy, and the ex-Yugoslavia, is one of the "five big countries" in the world, involved with the naïve art. A large number of works by Brazilian naïve painters are part of the collections of the main naïve art museums around the world. Brazilian naïve paintings appear in the most important foreign books on this subject.