when I get to think about roberto burle-marx, personal memories come first. the ones from my so-called brazilian childhood (to tell the truth i migrate to france when i was not even 4, but there is still some kind of tropical-modernism attraction, think prada before prada, and a marked taste for concrete that remain alive in me, sort of cultural dna, i guess). so burle-marx means for me copacabana and flamingo in rio (my favorite sides-walks in the world), the palacio gustavo campanema in rio (with fellow architects costa, niemeyer and le corbusier, how chic), the palacio de itamaraty in brasilia (the most beautiful james-bond-evil-headquarter-look-alike i get to visit) and my favorite, a barocco village square in the antique town of tiradentes that no one knows about (and i love it more for that).

avenida atlantica, copacabana, rio de janeiro

palacio gustavo campanema, rio de janeiro

palacio de itamaraty, brasilia
 

all of these works, of course, are widely spread on the walls of the burle-marx exhibition which is running until the end of july at la cité de l’architecture in paris. but to my surprise, i discovered that roberto burle-marx used to design jewels as well. for the good reason that his own brother haroldo burle-marx was himself jewelry designer and was as famous in jewelry as roberto was known for gardens.

brooch in yellow gold and aquamarine, circa 1950, haroldo burle-marx

ring in yellow gold and naturally-carved amethyst, circa 1960, haroldo burle-marx
 

the filiation is obvious. but whether this is roberto, haroldo, groucho or simply the spirit of h.stern, i don’t really care because these works are nothing but pure brazilian taste. another point that makes me believe that the influence of brazilian history in modern design has too often been underrated.

_______please allow a minute of brazilian pride.