RETRATOS PINTADOS

" Sometimes the ordinary black-and-white portrait just isn’t enough. If you lived in Northeastern Brazil over the course of the last century, you might have solved that problem by taking your family portraits to a studio of local artisans, who would embellish the likeness of your loved ones with a layer of colorful, hand-painted oil washes. This practice could also resolve issues like boring clothes or hairstyles, lack of jewelry, male pattern baldness, or even a death in the family.

These pictures were selected from the collection of Titus Reidl, a European who has lived in the region for fifteen years. The Retratos Pintados book, edited by Reidl and the photographer Martin Parr and published by Parr/Nazraeli, is available at the gallery. Neither are to be missed—they are lovely collections of a remarkable and fading craft, a summer treat on view through September 18th." [via]