Benedito Calixto - Paisagem com cruzeiro (1920)

Calixto was a painter of seascapes, landscapes, popular customs, historical and religious scenes. If during his lifetime there was a tendency to consider him mainly as a historical and religious painter (genres in which he left an abundant production, including the Cathedral and the Stock Exchange of Santos, the Cardinal's Palace in Rio de Janeiro, the Church of Santa Cecilia in São Paulo and the Matrix of Saint John the Baptist in Bocaina), today it is common to give much more importance to the port and coastal scenes, in which he extravasated a character, perhaps rude, but personal and deeply sincere in his approach to the various aspects of nature. The paintings in which he depicted the unloading of coffee in the primitive port of Santos, in addition to their purely documentary aspect, are imbued with expressive power, despite the somewhat harsh appearance of the boats. On the other hand, it is worth highlighting certain coastal or river scenes, in which a somewhat naive drawing and precise coloring are combined with a clear concern for the atmosphere and a great respect for the environment. He died in São Paulo on May 31, 1927, but was buried in the Paquetá cemetery in São Vicente. Three years earlier, he had received from Pope Pius IX the Commendation and the Cross of São Silvestre Papa, as a reward for the services rendered to the Church with his art.