6 goals for the new year based on some inspiring paintings !

The New Year is here! And, of course, it’s time to set both professional and personal goals. Why don’t we take a look at some inspiring paintings before we start?

This year will not fail! Instead of an endless list of goals to achieve in the new year, let’s set just 6.

Inspired by inspiring paintings by great Brazilian artists, these 6 goals will help us face the new year with peace of mind.

Text by Rute Ferreira, author of Art Analysis and Art History courses

So, inspirational paintings for our New Year’s goals

1 – Read at least one book a month

Almeida Júnior, Leitura, 1892, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)

Reading is a fantastic exercise for our brains, and an activity that is often pleasurable.

However, if you haven’t gotten into the habit of reading yet, but know the benefits and want to start, my advice is to start small.

One book a month is enough for you to start falling in love with reading, turning it into a habit and not a boring activity.

If you feel like making reading one of your goals for 2023, take inspiration from these two inspiring paintings by Almeida Júnior (1850-1899).

Almeida Júnior, Moça com livro, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)

2 – Cultivate a new hobby

Playing an instrument

Taking up a new hobby could be one of your goals for 2025.

You can learn to play an instrument, like in this painting Flautista by Cândido Portinari(1903-1962).

At the age of 15, the young Cândido began his formal art education in Rio de Janeiro.

At 25, he received an award that allowed him to spend a year studying in Europe, where he encountered avant-garde movements such as Expressionism and Cubism.

His painting technique was in tune with the great European avant-garde art movements.

Portinari painted almost five thousand inspiring paintings and achieved national and international prestige rarely achieved by other Brazilian artists.

In Brazil, there is a museum where he lived called “Museu Casa de Candido Portinari”, located in the state of São Paulo in the artist’s hometown of Brodowski.

O flautista, Portinari, 1932

Taking care of your plants

If learning to play an instrument is out of the question, and you prefer something that brings you into contact with nature, there are plenty of inspiring paintings that can help.

How about taking care of plants or maybe creating your own vegetable garden?

I’ve been trying it for a while and I can’t say I’m doing very well (many of my little plants have already gone to plant heaven).

But there’s so much information about it on the internet that you might be inspired by the girl in Spring (1926), a painting by Georgina de Albuquerque (1885-1962).

She was an academic artist who marked the history of art by dealing with historical themes in her work, at a time when this genre was not common among women artists.

3 – Do more outdoor activities

One of your goals for 2025 could be a walk in a park in your city, or even a walk near your home.

After all, sunshine is important, don’t you think?

Try to set aside a few hours of your day to enjoy a moment outdoors, like the girl in the painting by Lucílio de Albuquerque (1877-1939).

And who knows, you might come across some beautiful landscapes like the ones he painted.

Lucílio de Albuquerque was greatly influenced by the Impressionist movement.

Impressionism was a movement that broke away from the academic canons and opposed them to painting on location, outdoors and capturing the variations in light and color in nature.

The artists sought to free themselves from symmetry and geometric concepts, and to obey their own sensory perception at the moment of creation.

Lucilio studied law, but decided to abandon his future career as a lawyer and study painting at the School of Fine Arts.

There he became very close to Georgina de Albuquerque, whom he married in 1906.

Lucílio de Albuquerque – Paisagem de Le Mesnil, 1906

4 – Inspiring paintings to spend more quality time with family and friends

Do you think you’re not spending quality time with the people you love? How about making spending more time with these people one of your goals for 2025?

I know, our routine doesn’t always allow us to be close to those we love.

But it’s important to reflect on what changes can be made to make this possible, after all, isn ‘t it for the people we love that we work so hard?

Here are 2 inspiring paintings by Eliseu Visconti (1866-1944).

Eliseu Visconti, Alameda, 1931

Eliseu Visconti, Pintando com a família, 1909

5 – Learning a new language

The next inspiration also comes from Eliseu Visconti: how about learning a new language?

If a course doesn’t fit into your budget at the moment, try free options such as the popular Duolingo app or teachers’ YouTube channels.

Just make sure you have the right study method and, like the girl in Visconti’s painting, put your new knowledge into practice, whether it’s writing, like her, or practicing conversation.

Eliseu Visconti, Deveres, 1910

6 – Eating healthier

This is one of my goals for 2025.

Eating nonsense is very tasty, I know, but eating more fruit and vegetables, making our plates colorful, reducing our consumption of red meat and sugar will certainly do us a lot of good.

Taking care of our health means eating well.

2 paintings that inspire healthy eating: Garoto com Banana, by Almeida Júnior, and Tropical, by Anita Malfatti (1889-1964).

This Brazilian painter was key to the 1922 Modern Art Week and one of the country’s greatest representatives of expressionism.

Anita Malfatti, Tropical, 1917

Almeida Júnior, Garoto com banana, 1897

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We hope that this little journey through Brazilian painting will inspire you to set new goals for this new year!

And help you live it with more peace and joy.

Happy New Year

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