Beatriz Francisca de Assis Brandão

Beatriz Francisca de Assis Brandão (29 July 1779 – 5 February 1868) was a Neoclassical or Arcadian Brazilian poet, translator, musician, educator and early feminist. One of the few prominent female intellectuals and artists in Brazil during the reign of Pedro II, she became well known for her poetry, frequently published in Brazilian newspapers. Through her life and work, she challenged the dominant societal roles for women at the time and played an important part in Brazilian social, political and cultural history.

Biography In 1779, Beatriz Brandão was born into a well-to-do family of European descent in the city of Vila Rica (now Ouro Preto), Minas Gerais in southeast Brazil. Vila Rica, the epicenter of colonial Brazil's gold rush, was built upon this remarkable pioneering mining wealth, and at the time, it was both the capital of the province of Minas Gerais and the largest city in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. In the 18th century, Vila Rica was a vibrant place not only economically but also artistically and politically. As the center of the Baroque architecture movement in Brazil, the historic core of Ouro Preto is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The birthplace of the Inconfidência Mineira or Minas Conspiracy, Ouro Preto was also a center of agitation for Brazil's separation from the Portuguese Empire.

Beatriz Brandão was the sixth and youngest child of dragoon Sergeant Francisco Sanches Brandão and Isabel Feliciana Narcisa de Seixas. The Brandão family had close ties with the Brazilian imperial family, which Beatriz Brandão maintained throughout her life.

She married a lieutenant (later, captain) named Vicente Batista Rodrigues Alvarenga in May 1816, at the age of 33. Later, after living apart from her husband for seven years, Brandão was finally granted a divorce in 1839.

Alongside her literary activities, Brandão worked throughout her life as an educator in schools for young women to support herself, in both Ouro Preto and Rio de Janeiro.

Literary work Brandão was known in her time for her poetry, prose, and translation work. Early on, she began to translate poems, theatrical works, and other literary pieces from Italian and French into Portuguese. Brandão was one of the writers in Minas Gerais in this period, like Cláudio Manuel da Costa (1729–1789) and Alvarenga Peixoto (1744–1793), who copied, translated, and adapted works of contemporary Italian and French playwrights like Pietro Metastasio.

Brandão published her poems in several Brazilian newspapers throughout her career, often signing them "D. Beatriz" (Dona Beatriz). Brandão became prolific in her poetry after moving to Rio de Janeiro and achieved recognition through publication. Between 1852 and 1857, the Rio newspaper Marmota Fluminese alone published 38 of her poems. Her poetry was also published in a number of collected volumes, including Januário da Cunha Barbosa's Parnaso Brasileiro volumes beginning in 1831. She also published several collections of her poems, the first of which–Cantos da mocidade (Songs of Youth)–was printed in 1856.

Selected works Poetry Cantos da mocidade. Rio de Janeiro: Typ. Dous de Dezembro de Paula Brito, 1856. 232 pp. Cartas de Leandro e Hero, extrahidas de uma traducção franceza. Rio de Janeiro: Typ. e livraria de B. X. P. de Sousa, 1859. 44 pp. Romances imitados de Gesner. Typ. e livraria de B. X. P. de Sousa. 32 pp. Lágrimas do Brasil. Poesia em versos hendecassílabos no mausoléu levantado à memória da excelsa rainha de Portugal, dona Estefânia, Rio de Janeiro, 1860. As Comendas. Poesias, Rio de Janeiro, s. d. "Poesias" in.: BARBOSA, Januário da Cunha, Parnaso brasileiro ou colecção das melhores poesias dos poetas do Brasil, tanto inéditas, como já impressas, Rio de Janeiro, Tipografia Nacional, 1831, volume 2, cad. 5, pp. 27–38 "Carta de Leandro a Hero, traduzida do francês e dedicada à Senhora D. Delfina Benigna da Cunha e Carta de Hero a Leandro" in.: BARBOSA, Januário da Cunha, Parnaso brasileiro ou colecção das melhores poesias dos poetas do Brasil, tanto inéditas, como já impressas, Rio de Janeiro, Tipografia Nacional, 1831, volume 2, cad. /, pp. 7–28

Drama Catão, tragic drama by Pedro Metastasio (translated from Italian). Typ. e livraria de B. X. P. de Sousa, 1860. 136 pp. Saudação à estátua equestre de S. M. I. o senhor D. Pedro I, fundador do Império do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro, Tip. Paula Brito, 1862.

Lost works Dramma per musica á Coroação de S. M. O sr. D. Pedro I Dramma per musica no Nascimento do sr. D. Pedro II Cantata aos annos da imperatriz a sr.ª D. Leopoldina Alexandre na India by Pedro Metastasio, translation Semiramis reconhecida by Pedro Metastasio, translation José no Egypto by Pedro Metastasio, translation Angelica e Medoro by Pedro Metastasio, translation Diana e Endemião by Pedro Metastasio, translation Sonho de Scipião by Pedro Metastasio, translation