“Victor Brecheret uses different techniques and materials in his sculptures and gets on to relevant themes of national culture. While in Paris, he participated in the Modern Art Week of 1922 with twelve sculptures of different materials.
From the 1940s on, Brecheret turned to themes related to indigenous culture, working more circular shapes with smooth incisions and, in many moments, with a formal simplification that almost dialogues with abstraction. He used indigenous forms and archetypes, inspired by marajoara culture, as seen in “Indian with the son on her lap”, which is part of the figures included in the famous Monument to the Flags, at the Ibirapuera Park, opened in 1953.
With Art Déco style lines, Brecheret represented characters from many ethnic groups – Portuguese, Mamelukes, Blacks and Indians. The image of an indigenous mother with the son on her lap contrasts with the figures of the pioneers in march, who aimed at territorial and treasures conquests, combined with the capture of indigenous people.”.