Last week to see War and Peace in São Paulo.

Elaine Patricia Cruz, from Agência Brasil - “The War and Peace panels undoubtedly represent the best work I have ever done. I dedicate them to humanity.” This phrase, spoken by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari (1903-1962), attempts to explain the grandeur of the panels on display at the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo until May 20th. Each mural is 14 meters high by 10 meters wide and weighs over a ton, but the grandeur of the works cannot be measured solely by the size of the panels, but rather by the touching message of peace they convey to the world.

“This is not just an art exhibition. This is a great ethical and humanist message that addresses the main problem the world faces today: the issue of violence, lack of citizenship, and social injustice. This is the great message of Portinari's entire life, synthesized in these final works he left behind,” said João Candido Portinari, Portinari's son, in an interview with Agência Brasil. João Candido is responsible for carrying out the project, which brought the works to Brazil.

Completed in 1956, the works remain relevant today. The expressions of suffering on the faces of the mothers in the panel depicting "The War," for example, can be compared to photos of mothers who have recently suffered in the conflict in Syria. According to João Candido, this comparison was made by a professor from Uberlândia (MG) who visited the exhibition and sent him, via email, a photomontage comparing the Syrian mother to Portinari's painting. "She was in a position of despair absolutely identical to that of a woman who was in the 'War' panel," said João Candido.

All the work that resulted in War and Peace was produced by Candido Portinari between 1952 and 1956. The work was commissioned by the Brazilian government as a gift for the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in New York, where the panels were installed in the entrance hall, with restricted public access.

A major renovation of the UN headquarters building, which began in 2010, provided an unprecedented opportunity to bring these panels to Brazil. The first stage of the exhibition took place in Rio de Janeiro in December 2010, attracting more than 44 visitors. In São Paulo, more than 150 people have already visited War and Peace. Until 2014, the works will be on display around the world, before returning permanently to UN headquarters.

The immense panels could only be transported because War and Peace consists of a kind of jigsaw puzzle, composed of 28 sheets of marine plywood. In Brazil, the works underwent a restoration process, carried out between February and May 2011 at the Gustavo Capanema Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Along with War and Peace, 100 preparatory studies are also on display, as well as historical documents such as letters, newspaper clippings, and photographs that recount, in detail, the creation of the panels.

João Candido was only 13 years old when his father began the work. “I witnessed an act of heroism. Of course, at that time I wasn't able to understand it. I only saw a man painting from morning till night, in extremely arduous conditions. He worked in a shed that was an old television studio, borrowed from Rádio Tupi, without windows, with a zinc roof, and where the temperature reached 45 degrees Celsius. He drank lemonade all the time to try to survive,” he recalls. According to João Candido, his father spent four years studying for the works and painted them in just nine months.

War and Peace were the last two and largest panels created by Portinari. While he was making the preparatory study for the two panels, doctors advised him to stop painting because of the risk of lead poisoning from the paints. Portinari rejected the medical advice. “It was fatal. There was that medical prohibition, which he did not respect. But he couldn't fail to convey the greatest message of his life, that of peace,” said his son. On February 6, 1962, Portinari died as a result of lead poisoning from the paints he used.

The sheer size of the works impresses the public. Retired teacher Nilsa Papaleo visited the exhibition last Friday (11). “I am delighted to see how a person can create art of this size. I was amazed [to learn] how they transported it, since it is an immense panel. And then they explained to me that it is like a puzzle, all divided, which they disassemble. It is very beautiful, impactful,” she told Agência Brasil. For her, the works represent the society in which we live. “And it continues in the same way.”

Doctor Luiz Martinelli had already seen the artwork at the UN. “But seeing it here is different. We’re at home. In our own country it’s different. It’s more enjoyable,” he said. “Personally, I like Peace better. I’m all about peace,” he joked. “In War, we see people suffering. It’s a more shocking image. Peace is always more beautiful.”

After receiving a tip from a teacher, who mentioned that the artwork was from the UN, student Pablo de Lima Almeida decided to visit the exhibition with a group of friends. He told Agência Brasil that he liked the panel depicting peace the most. "It's more beautiful," he said.

Retired Cristina Figueiredo, who has always enjoyed art, decided to visit the exhibition before it closed. According to her, the impact of the works is immense. “I had seen Picasso’s Guernica, which is also impressive. But this one has our colors, Brazilian colors, which is very important to me,” she said, noting the work’s contemporary relevance. “I read somewhere that he (Portinari) portrays war as something that has always belonged to humanity. He doesn’t portray a (single) war, as is the case with Guernica, which addresses the Spanish Civil War. He portrays the war that has always existed in humanity and that, unfortunately, continues to exist,” she said.

This grand message from the artist Candido Portinari to the world, the immense panels that make up the work War and Peace, is set to remain in Brazil for longer than expected. At the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo, where it is currently on display, the exhibition has been extended until May 20th, with free admission. Afterwards, it is expected to travel to Belo Horizonte (MG), the capital of Minas Gerais state, before crossing the ocean, likely heading to Norway and China.