Abaporu is a painting in oil on canvas by Brazilian painter Tarsila do Amaral

Tarsila do Amaral

Tarsila do Amaral, , known simply as Tarsila, is considered to be one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, described as "the Brazilian painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style." She was a member of the Grupo dos Cinco , which...

, painted in 1928 as a birthday gift to the Brazilian writer Oswald de Andrade

Oswald de Andrade

José Oswald de Andrade Souza was a Brazilian poet and polemicist. He was born and spent most of his life in São Paulo....

, her husband at the time.

Today it is the most valued Brazilian screen in the world, reaching the value of $1.5 million, paid by the Argentine collector Eduardo Costantini in 1995. It’s exposed at the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (Spanish: Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, MALBA

MALBA

The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires is a museum located on Figueroa Alcorta Avenue, in the Palermo section of Buenos Aires.Created by Argentine businessman Eduardo Constantini, the museum is operated by the not-for-profit Fundación MALBAConstantini, and was inaugurated on September 21,...

) in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

The composition: one man, the sun and a cactus – inspired Oswald de Andrade to write the Anthropophagite Manifesto and consequently create Anthropophagic Movement, intended to "swallow" European culture and turn it into something culturally very Brazilian

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.