Francisco Brennand, or Francisco de Paula de Almeida Brennand, (June 11, 1927 – December 19, 2019), was a Brazilian painter and sculptor, best known for his work in ceramics. Life Francisco de Paula de Almeida Brennand was born in Recife, Brazil, to Ricardo Monteiro Brennand and Olímpia Padilha Nunes Coimbra on June 11, 1927. He was a descendant from an Irish ancestor who migrated to Recife in 1820 and married into a sugar plantation family. His father, Ricardo Brennand, added ceramic tile and brick to the business in 1917, and sent his son Francisco to Europe to study technical ceramic skills. Arriving in Paris in 1949, Brennand discovered the ceramic work of Pable Picasso, Joan Miró and Fernand Léger, and became a ceramic artist. In 1948, he married Déborah de Moura Vasconcelos. In 1950 he was awarded second prize at the 9th Pernambuco Salon with the painting “Mamão e Bananas”. In 1961, Brennand began producing the ceramic mural “Batalha dos Guararapes”, with poems by Cesar Leal and Ariano Suassuna, on Recife's Rua das Flores. Later, in 1968, he collaborated with Suassuna on the costumes for the first cinematographic production of O Auto da Compadecida. In 1971, he participated in the 11th São Paulo Biennial with 12 paintings. In 1971, Brennand returned to the ruins of his father's tile factory and set about turning it into what would become the Oficina Brennand, producing both tiles and his own ceramic sculpture. Between 1975 and 1985, he created many of the sculptures that now inhabit the studio, where he developed and refined his ceramic imaginary. In the following years, he produced murals and panels for various public and corporate buildings, such as the mural for the Companhia Hidroelétrica do São Francisco (1979), in Recife; the ceramic mural for the Companhia do Desenvolvimento do Vale de São Francisco, in Brasilia (1980); and the “Monumento aos Três Heróis da Restauração” (1981) for the Departamento Nacional de Estradas de Rodagem, in Recife. In 1985, he was invited to participate in the 18th São Paulo Biennial. In the same year, he received the medal of "Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" from the French Ministry of Culture. In 1989, he took part in the 2nd International Biennial of Óbidos, Portugal. The following year, he represented Brazil at the 44th Venice Biennial. In 1992, he was part of the group shows EXPO 92, in Seville, and