Burle Marx, Roberto (1909–1994)

Roberto Burle Marx (b. 1909; d. 4 June 1994), foremost landscape architect in Brazil. Roberto Burle Marx was born to a German businessman and his wife, a Brazilian pianist. Although he shared his mother's interest in gardening, Burle Marx originally intended to become a painter. It was while studying art in Berlin in 1928 that he discovered the beauty of Brazil's native plants, which were often neglected in the gardens of his own country.

Returning to Brazil, Burle Marx took up painting as his career and gardening as a hobby. One of his gardens attracted the attention of Lucio Costa, an architect and longtime friend, who asked Burle Marx to design a garden for a private residence. This garden, containing a variety of Brazilian plants, as opposed to the formal, European-style gardens that had been the custom, was an immediate success and the first of many commissions. Among his many award-winning projects are Flamengo Park and the plant-lined mosaic sidewalks that run along Copa-cabana Beach in Rio. Not limiting himself to Brazil, he designed gardens for the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, public parks in Venezuela, a waterfront renovation project in Key Biscayne, Florida, and private gardens on three continents and numerous islands.

Burle Marx planned his gardens with a painter's eye. Sharp contrasts in color and shape characterize his style. "The garden must be linked to nature," appears to be his prevailing philosophy. Other Burle Marx hallmarks are his use of stone and water plants, which grace many of his gardens.

Working so intimately with plants, Burle Marx became an advocate for the preservation of Brazil's natural environment and frequently spoke out against the threat that development poses to his beloved plants. He, himself, discovered several of the country's native plants, some of which are named after him.

See alsoArchitecture: Modern Architecture; Environmental Movements.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Geri Smith, "Thumbs Up," in Americas 40 (September-October 1988): 26-31.

Michael Parfit, "A Brazilian Master Who Finds the Art in Nature's Bounty, in Smithsonian 21 (July 1990): 96-107.

Additional Bibliography

Berrizbeitia, Anita. Roberto Burle Marx in Caracas: Parque del Este, 1956–1961. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2005.

Cals, Soraia. Roberto Burle Marx: Uma fotobiografia. Rio de Janeiro: s.n., 1995.

Montero, Marta Iris. Roberto Burle Marx: The Lyrical Landscape. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

                                    Sheila L. Hooker