Cornélio Penna
| Cornélio Penna | |
|---|---|
| File:Cornélio Penna.jpg | |
| Born | February 20, 1896 Petrópolis |
| Died | February 12, 1958 (aged 61) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Alma mater | Faculdade de Direito do Largo de São Francisco |
| Occupations | writer, painter, printmaker |
| Writing career | |
| Period | 1935 - 1954 |
| Notable work | A Menina Morta |
| Notable awards | Prêmio Carmem Dolores Barbosa |
Cornélio de Oliveira Penna (February 20, 1896 – February 12, 1958) was a Brazilian novelist and plastic artist. He pioneered psychological realism in Brazilian literature.
Biography
Born in Petrópolis into a middle-class family, he soon moved to Itabira, a small rural town. According to Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Cornélio was born, lived and died interiorly in Itabira.[1] He would then complete his secondary education in Campinas and enroll at the Faculty of Law of São Paulo, from which he graduated.[2][3]
Established in Rio de Janeiro, he began working as a professional artist, holding solo exhibitions of his canvases and drawing illustrations for newspapers. During this period he was associated with the traditionalist Centro Dom Vital.[4] In the early 1930s, he abandoned his career as an artist to devote himself to writing.
His novels Fronteira and Dois Romances de Nico Horta drew the attention of many critics.[5] Alceu Amoroso Lima compared his prose and introspective themes to those of French-American author Julien Green. Academic critics recognized Penna, together with Octavio de Faria and Lúcio Cardoso, as representatives of an intimist style of realism, as opposed to the predominant socially-oriented regionalism of the time.[6][7]
He died in 1958, leaving behind an unfinished novel, Alma Branca, which was published posthmously in 2020. The house Faria e Silva published many of his drawings, sketches, and paintings in the volume Caderno de pinturas e desenhos.
Works
- Fronteira (1935)
- Dois Romances de Nico Horta (1938)
- Repouso (1948)
- A Menina Morta (1954)
- Alma Branca e outros escritos (2020)
References
- Back to citation Cruz, Carlos (2023-10-11). "Cornélio Penna, que fez de Itabira a melhor amiga e fonte de inspiração, ganha busto e jardim em praça da rua Major Paulo". Vila de Utopia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-18.
- Back to citation viladeutopia (2019-06-29). "Cornélio Penna considera-se um fantasma, porém não acredita em assombração". Vila de Utopia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-18.
- Back to citation "Cátedra Padre António Vieira de Estudos Portugueses:: Cornélio Penna, um escritor na contramão". catedravieira-ic.letras.puc-rio.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-18.
- Back to citation Schincariol, Marcelo Tadeu (2009). "A ARTE COMPLEXA DE SER INFELIZ: - A ficção de Cornélio Penna" (PDF). Universidade Estadual de Campinas: 32.
- Back to citation Rodrigues, Danielle (2014). ""Mistérios e revelações em Fronteira e Inácio"". ContraPonto (in Portuguese). 4 (5): 59–70. ISSN 2237-9940.
- Back to citation Bueno, Teresinha Aparecida Peron (2009-02-20). Um romance entre fronteiras: uma leitura do primeiro romance de Cornelio Penna (dissertação thesis) (in Brazilian Portuguese). Universidade de São Paulo.
- Back to citation Farias, Morais, Franklin (2015). "Lúcio Cardoso, Cornélio Penna e a retórica do Brasil profundo". Repositório UPOF (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2024-10-12.