Grupo Santa Helena

Grupo Santa Helena, or Santa Helena Group, was the name given by the critic Sérgio Milliet to the painters that met in the of Francisco Rebolo and Mario Zanini starting in the 1930s. The ateliers belonged to a Praça da Sé building named Palacete Santa Helena. This building was demolished in 1971, when the Sé station of São Paulo Metro was built.

The Santa Helena Group was formed spontaneously, without any conceptual commitment. Most of its members were Italian immigrants, like Alfredo Volpi and Fulvio Pennacchi; sons of Italian immigrants, like Aldo Bonadei, Alfredo Rizzotti, Mario Zanini and Humberto Rosa; some were Spanish immigrants like Francisco Rebolo; some Portuguese immigrants like Manuel Martins.

They all shared a humble origin, and worked as artisans or proletarians. Rebolo, Volpi and Zanini were wall painters. Clóvis Graciano was a railroad worker. Fulvio Pennacchi was a butcher. Aldo Bonadei worked with costume design and embroidery. Rizzotti was an auto mechanic and a lathe worker. Manoel Martins was a goldsmith. Rebolo was a football player. Humberto Rosa and Pennacchi taught drawing. Painting was for the weekends or leisure time.

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