Menino com legumes

Timóteo da Costa employs a smooth oil application that captures delicate light on the foliage and the boy’s skin. The palette combines muted earth tones with vivid floral colors, creating a harmonious contrast. The brushwork is restrained, emphasizing form and volume over texture, aligning the piece with early 20th‑century Brazilian realism that favored clear representation of domestic scenes.

Since its completion in 1917, the painting has remained within public institutions, eventually entering the holdings of São Paulo’s state museum, the Pinacoteca. Its presence in the collection underscores the museum’s commitment to preserving works that illustrate Brazil’s artistic development during the early modern period.