Maria Auxiliadora (1935–1974) was the fourth daughter in a family of farmers, composed of eighteen siblings, originally from Campo Belo (Minas Gerais), who moved to São Paulo when she was three years old. They lived in various regions of the city, including Casa Verde, a well-known neighborhood for samba musicians. Auxiliadora began working at a very young age, around twelve years old, which prevented her from continuing her studies. She worked as a nanny, maid, cook, and also as an embroiderer until she was able to dedicate herself exclusively to painting.

Like many other Black artists, Auxiliadora did not receive formal art education, although she grew up in a deeply artistic family – among her relatives were writers, painters, and musicians. It is said that her mother, an artist who sculpted figures in wood and sold them in República Square, central area of São Paulo, was the one who encouraged her to paint. Her professional involvement with the arts began in 1968 and lasted until 1974, when she passed away at the age of 39 due to cancer. During this brief period, she produced and circulated a significant amount of work, and attended the group led by poet Solano Trindade in the city of Embu das Artes. She met critics and collectors, which allowed her work to gain exposure, though it was almost always categorized as “primitive” or “naïve” – a simplistic and elitist fixation that failed to acknowledge the formal qualities of her work. In 1971, she held her first solo exhibition at the library of the United States Consulate in São Paulo.

In formal terms, Auxiliadora developed her own painting technique. Among her innovations was the use of a gesso preparation that she applied to her paintings, which gave her work a three-dimensional quality. Her technique highlights meticulous details, particularly in the faces, hands, and clothing of her subjects, imparting a sense of intimacy and authenticity. Her vibrant color palette enhances the vitality of the figures, while her compositions emphasize the details that humanize and elevate each person portrayed. This attention to detail and color reflects an aesthetic care that intensifies the narrative of valorizing Black culture and the subjectivity of Black people. The textile element and the relationship with fashion stand out, with the constant presence of embroidery marking her work as unique. The artist exhibits an aesthetic that blends elements of realism with components of storytelling, particularly in works that address the theme of Afro-Brazilian religions.

Auxiliadora created a poetics of Black intimacy that reconstituted “universes of subjectivity artificially thinned out and re-singularized.”¹ Her work, dominated by a semantic focus on intimacy, is nourished by a visual repertoire that celebrates the creation of beauty and closeness through everyday, familial, intimate, religious, labor, festive, and joyful scenes from her community. Her works express a sense of belonging that symbolizes a collective existence.