Notícias
Exhibition honoring Jean Massart in Belgium features a section on Brazil
The exhibition Jean Massart, l’homme derrière le jardin botanique, organized by the Free University of Brussels (Université libre de Bruxelles), is running until November 20 at the botanical garden named after the Belgian physician and biologist. The exhibition has a section on Brazil, curated by historian Alda Heizer and Raul Ribeiro, head of the Museum and Collection Division of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.
Jean Massart was a professor and director of the Léo Errera Botanical Institute at the University of Brussels when he conceived and led an important expedition to Brazil between 1922 and 1923, traveling through Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Ceará, Pará, and Amazonas. The so-called “Belgian mission” stayed for five weeks at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and was supported by scientists from the institution in organizing and carrying out expeditions throughout the country.
Alda Heizer has been studying the “Massart Expedition” for years, with publications on the subject and two exhibitions: one in Brussels during the Europalia festival (2011), and another at the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro in 2022, marking the centenary of the Belgians' arrival in Brazil. Raul Ribeiro defended his master's thesis on heritage, photography, and science at Fiocruz, researching the photographic collection resulting from the Belgian expedition.