--- title: "Babá, the First Disciple: Chico da Silva" description: "Babá (Sebastião Lima da Silva), the first disciple of Chico da Silva in Pirambu: Bluhm's workshop, the 1966 scandal and a signature of his own from 1977." canonical: https://chicodasilva.org/en/articles/baba-the-first-disciple/ lang: en license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ translations: ar: https://chicodasilva.org/ar/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B0/ en: https://chicodasilva.org/en/articles/baba-the-first-disciple/ es: https://chicodasilva.org/es/articulos/baba-el-primer-discipulo/ fr: https://chicodasilva.org/fr/articles/baba-le-premier-disciple/ pt: https://chicodasilva.org/pt/artigos/baba-o-primeiro-discipulo/ zh-Hans: https://chicodasilva.cn/%E6%96%87%E7%AB%A0/%E5%B7%B4%E5%B7%B4-%E7%AC%AC%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA%E5%BC%9F%E5%AD%90/ --- # Babá, the First Disciple Babá (Sebastião Lima da Silva), the first disciple of Chico da Silva in Pirambu: Bluhm's workshop, the 1966 scandal and a signature of his own from 1977. ![A young man with thick curly hair and heavy eyebrows looks at the camera without smiling. Black and white photograph, chain-link fence behind him.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/photos/baba-portrait-1977-ai-upscaled-640.jpg)![The same photograph as printed in the 1977 booklet, in coarse halftone.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/photos/baba-portrait-1977-print-640.jpg) *Babá in the booklet Patrimônio Popular: os pintores do Pirambu, III Exanor, 1977.Photographer unidentified. Resolution upscaled by AI from the printed reproduction, shown in the corner.* Sebastião Lima da Silva signs his paintings Babá. He was the first of the Pirambu boys to put his hand to a painting by [Chico da Silva](https://chicodasilva.org/en/biography/), and his way of painting became the standard for the whole group. Those who studied the school at close range interviewed him: the political scientist David Silberstein, who published his study of the trade in 1977 in the Revista de Ciências Sociais of the Federal University of Ceará and calls him Chico’s first disciple; and Roberto Galvão, author of *Chico da Silva e a Escola do Pirambu* (1986). The volume *A Escola do Pirambu: um legado de Chico da Silva*, edited by the curator Flávia Muluc in 2024, gathers both texts and is the main source for this article. The [João Cunha Collection](https://chicodasilva.org/en/about/) holds 27 canvases he painted between 2004 and 2011. ## The shoe shop and the window His father had a shoemaking shop and wanted the boy to learn the trade. Babá met Chico in a commotion, Galvão writes: the press went to visit the painter at the house on Rua Santa Inês and the boy went to see. After that he spent nearly all his time watching Chico paint. Galvão dates the first helpers to late 1963 or early 1964 and describes the course of the apprenticeship, the same one [Garcia](https://chicodasilva.org/en/articles/garcia-the-last-disciple/) would follow later: first the filling, flat colour inside the drawn line; then the pigmentation, the stippling that gave the texture; and only some time afterwards the invention of figures. Who came first, Galvão leaves open. Babá was the first to paint with Chico, he writes, but Claudionor may have started earlier on the drawings, and Ivan, in his account to Galvão, thought the pads of already drawn paper he saw at Chico’s house were Claudionor’s. Claudionor himself, in the memoir his family published in 2024, disagrees on one point: he says Babá could not draw, and that when the orders piled up he cut up Claudionor’s drawings to use as templates and copy them onto canvas. [![Two confronting roosters with fanned tails facing each other amid green palm fronds on a yellow ground. Roosters, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-060/chico-da-silva-by-baba-roosters-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-060-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/roosters-2006-060/) *[Roosters (2006)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/roosters-2006-060/), Chico da Silva by Babá* ## Bluhm’s house Henrique Bluhm, Chico’s first dealer, turned up in Pirambu unannounced and found the painter drunk and the helpers at work on the pictures. That is how he learned other hands were involved. He tried to move Chico out of the neighbourhood to paint and failed, because the painter had customers buying at his own door. The solution was to send Babá. Chico would leave him there and come by at the end of the day only to sign the paintings. According to Galvão, who credits the account to Babá himself, this is where the first workshop parallel to Chico’s studio begins. Bluhm’s wife, Di Caura, painted too, and whose drawings that workshop used is not known. Silberstein describes the same arrangement and places the work at the back of the snack bar Bluhm ran in central Fortaleza. Claudionor, who sold the dealer drawings on duplex paper, gives the name of the place, Lanchonete D’Caura, and says the ones painting those drawings were Chico and Babá. The chronology in *Chico da Silva: do delírio ao dilúvio*, which Galvão published in 1989, marks 1965 as the year Bluhm hired Babá. ## February 1966 The arrangement broke open in February 1966. On 8 February the Jornal do Brasil reported from Fortaleza that Chico had denounced as fakes the paintings the Galeria Relevo was selling in Rio de Janeiro under his name. The painter named Bluhm as the mastermind and said the canvases had been painted to order by Babá, who “already confessed to having made 40 paintings”, at prices up to Cr$ 200,000. In the same report Bluhm replied that almost all of Chico’s paintings were fakes, because he was industrialising his art and doing no more than signing it, and denied ordering any canvas from Babá. Estrigas records that the complaint to the police came from Dalva, the painter’s wife. Galvão notes the detail that undoes the accusation: at the police station, Chico authenticated works that were Babá’s. ![Newspaper clipping in three columns under an italic headline reporting imitations of the painter's canvases on sale in Rio.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/press/jornal-do-brasil-1966-02-08-p10-640.jpg) [Read the full page](https://img.chicodasilva.org/press/jornal-do-brasil-1966-02-08-p10-640.jpg) *"Silva diz que Relêvo está vendendo no Rio imitações das suas telas primitivas" (Silva says the Relêvo gallery is selling imitations of his primitive canvases in Rio). The article names the dealer Henrique Blumm and the painter Babá, with forty paintings admitted.Jornal do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, 8 February 1966, p. 10. [Hemeroteca Digital, Biblioteca Nacional (Brazil)](https://memoria.bn.gov.br/docreader/docreader.aspx?bib=030015_08&pagfis=80321).* The scandal ended both the workshop and his place in the master’s house. Babá never went back to work in Chico’s studio. He tried a solo exhibition with government support at the Casa de Cultura Raimundo Cela, without success, Galvão writes, and set up a workshop of his own in Pirambu, where, like the master, he turned to helpers and enlarged the number of people making Chicos da Silva. Two of his brothers, Manuel and Carlos, known as Cainha, are on the list of painters Galvão compiled. Claudionor tells the same thing from the inside: even Babá’s brothers tried their luck at primitivism, and the decade paid well. [![Two intertwined long fish or sea serpents densely patterned in red and teal on a pale ground. Fish and Bird, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-059/chico-da-silva-by-baba-fish-and-bird-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-059-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-and-bird-2006-059/) *[Fish and Bird (2006)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-and-bird-2006-059/), Chico da Silva by Babá* ## The hand that became the standard The strongest judgement Galvão makes in the monograph is about Babá’s handling of paint. Although Chico meant to be the catalyst of that painting, he writes, the way almost everyone in the Escola do Pirambu painted was markedly shaped by Babá’s painting, and not out of any deliberate wish to imitate him: “his painting was simply the most beautiful”, to the point that some rated it above the master’s, and it became the standard to reach. Galvão credits him with bringing mandala forms into the repertoire, as he credits Chica with the rosettes and the black grounds. Garcia, in the documentary *Memória e Imaginário* (2024), describes him as the painstaking one in the workshop, the one who liked fine finishing. In the 2024 volume the researcher Lucas Dilacerda writes the school as though it had a teaching staff, and Babá’s subject is the difficult vocabulary of shapes and colours. [![A large open-mouthed fish swallowing smaller fish, with long-beaked birds diving above on a yellow ground. Strange Original Reed, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-058/chico-da-silva-by-baba-strange-original-reed-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-74x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-058-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/strange-original-reed-2005-058/) *[Strange Original Reed (2005)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/strange-original-reed-2005-058/), Chico da Silva by Babá* ## His own name on the canvas In 1977 the artist Hélio Rôla, the restorer Gilberto Brito and Silberstein founded in Fortaleza the study group “Chico da Silva e a Escola do Pirambu”, to show the craft of the five against the version the press kept repeating; the group’s history is in the article on [the Pirambu school](https://chicodasilva.org/en/pirambu-school/). In March they exhibited as “Os Pintores do Pirambu” at the third EXANOR, and it was from that show onwards, Silberstein records, that they began signing paintings with their own names. The column “O Homem e as Coisas”, in the Correio do Ceará of 16 March 1977, wrote that it was worth more to buy a work signed by Babá, Francisca, Ivan, Claudionor or Garcia than to risk buying a supposed Chico da Silva. The following month, at the 27th Salão de Abril, the five painted before the public, at the Casa de Cultura Raimundo Cela, over seven days, the panel *Homens Trabalhando*, four metres by two, acrylic on canvas; Chico left hospital to work alongside them and signed the piece at the end, and Marcus Vale and João Vale filmed it all on Super-8. The canvas entered the collection of the Art Museum of the Federal University of Ceará in 2023, after the process the 2024 volume reconstructs. Of what Babá signed in those years, the book reproduces two untitled canvases, from 1973 and 1979, in Hélio Rôla’s collection. ![A narrow newspaper column headed "O Homem e as Coisas" in two lines, with the subheading "Os Pintores do Pirambu" and a second subheading partway down the text.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/press/correio-do-ceara-1977-03-16-p04-640.jpg) [Read the full page](https://img.chicodasilva.org/press/correio-do-ceara-1977-03-16-p04-640.jpg) *"O Homem e as Coisas: Os Pintores do Pirambu" (The man and things: the Pirambu painters). The column reviews the group's show at the third EXANOR and advises buying a work signed by Babá, Francisca, Ivan, Claudionor or Garcia over risking a supposed Chico da Silva.Correio do Ceará, Fortaleza, 16 March 1977, p. 4. [Portal da História do Ceará](https://historiadoceara.com.br/jornais/jornal.php?mes=03&edicao=1977&pagina=correio_do_ceara_1977_03_0329.jpg).* ## 2004: back to the canvas Erika Cavalcanti, a journalist and Claudionor’s daughter, writes in the preface to her father’s memoir that the partnership with the Instituto Cultural Oboé grew out of his reunion with Garcia and Babá in mid-2004. That cycle has an article of its own, [the Instituto Oboé](https://chicodasilva.org/en/articles/instituto-oboe/). Chico had been dead for nearly twenty years, each painter signed his own name, and the material was acrylic on canvas, in formats around 75 by 100 centimetres. The 27 paintings by Babá in the [João Cunha Collection](https://chicodasilva.org/en/about/) come from that period, 2004 to 2011, and enter the catalogue under the double attribution Chico da Silva by Babá: the world is the founder’s, the handling is the disciple’s. [![A large dotted fish surrounded by shrimp, insects and sea creatures against an orange ground. Toad Snake Birds and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2011, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-042/chico-da-silva-by-baba-toad-snake-birds-and-insects-2011-acrylic-on-canvas-80x120cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-042-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/toad-snake-birds-and-insects-2011-042/) *[Toad Snake Birds and Insects (2011)](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/toad-snake-birds-and-insects-2011-042/), Chico da Silva by Babá* The sociologist Gerciane Oliveira interviewed him in 2014 for the thesis *É ou não é um quadro Chico da Silva?*, defended at the Federal University of Ceará the following year. In April and May 2024 works by all five were shown at the Centro Cultural Belchior, in Praia de Iracema, Fortaleza, with canvases from Hélio Rôla’s collection, and the book came out of that show. It names Garcia as the only member of the core still alive. Babá’s canvases are in the index of [paintings](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/), beside the works Chico signed himself. ## Related works - [![Two large ornate birds with fanned tails and many small creatures against a yellow ground. Dragon Birds and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2004, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-043/chico-da-silva-by-baba-dragon-birds-and-insects-2004-acrylic-on-canvas-69x99cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-043-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Dragon Birds and Insects Chico da Silva by Babá, 2004](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/dragon-birds-and-insects-2004-043/) - [![A scaled bird on a branch with a coiling serpent against a yellow ground. Birds Snakes and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-040/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-snakes-and-insects-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-040-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Snakes and Insects Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-snakes-and-insects-2005-040/) - [![Two tall wading birds and a serpent flanking a central pool of swimming fish on a yellow ground. Birds Fish and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-048/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-fish-and-snake-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-048-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Fish and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-fish-and-snake-2005-048/) - [![Two large patterned birds standing on stones beside a central tree, with smaller birds above on a yellow ground. Birds, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-050/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-050-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-2005-050/) - [![Two tall confronting birds flanking a central upright stalk, with small birds flying at the corners. Birds and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-056/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-and-snake-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-056-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-and-snake-2005-056/) - [![A large open-mouthed fish swallowing smaller fish, with long-beaked birds diving above on a yellow ground. Strange Original Reed, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-058/chico-da-silva-by-baba-strange-original-reed-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-74x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-058-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Strange Original Reed Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/strange-original-reed-2005-058/) - [![A tall white crane flanked by an owl, a peacock and a smaller bird amid trees on a yellow ground. Birds Snake and Owl, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-064/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-snake-and-owl-2005-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-064-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Snake and Owl Chico da Silva by Babá, 2005](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-snake-and-owl-2005-064/) - [![A large patterned fish swimming amid swirling yellow and green water with a small fish below. Fish, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-039/chico-da-silva-by-baba-fish-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-039-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Fish Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-2006-039/) - [![An ornate peacock-like bird with a huge fan tail and two smaller birds against a red ground. Birds and Insect, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-041/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-and-insect-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-041-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds and Insect Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-and-insect-2006-041/) - [![A large scale-bodied bird on a branch surrounded by flying birds, snakes and fish against yellow. Birds Fish and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-044/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-fish-and-snake-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-044-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Fish and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-fish-and-snake-2006-044/) - [![A large scaled dragon with a long spotted tail against a yellow ground. Dragon Birds Fish and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-045/chico-da-silva-by-baba-dragon-birds-fish-and-snake-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x99cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-045-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Dragon Birds Fish and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/dragon-birds-fish-and-snake-2006-045/) - [![Fantastical long-tailed birds, a coiled serpent, beetles and insects on a tree branch over a bright yellow ground. Birds Insects and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-046/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-insects-and-snake-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-046-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Insects and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-insects-and-snake-2006-046/) - [![Three crested long-necked birds perched on the spreading branches of a single tree against a pale yellow sky. Birds and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-047/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-and-insects-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-047-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds and Insects Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-and-insects-2006-047/) - [![A crested long-beaked bird with a striped shell-like body beside a leafy tree and a round green canopy. Bird and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-052/chico-da-silva-by-baba-bird-and-insects-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-052-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Bird and Insects Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/bird-and-insects-2006-052/) - [![A large winged bird swooping over toothy fish in water, with smaller fish scattered across a green ground. Fish and Birds, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-053/chico-da-silva-by-baba-fish-and-birds-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-053-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Fish and Birds Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-and-birds-2006-053/) - [![A large peacock-like bird with a long jeweled tail sweeping across the canvas, with two smaller birds at left. Birds and Fish, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-054/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-and-fish-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-054-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds and Fish Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-and-fish-2006-054/) - [![A large yellow bird with patterned wings striding across a pink and yellow ground among smaller creatures. Bird and Fish, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-055/chico-da-silva-by-baba-bird-and-fish-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-055-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Bird and Fish Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/bird-and-fish-2006-055/) - [![Several long-legged birds and peacock-like creatures spread across a warm yellow and orange field with foliage. Birds, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-057/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-057-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-2006-057/) - [![Two intertwined long fish or sea serpents densely patterned in red and teal on a pale ground. Fish and Bird, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-059/chico-da-silva-by-baba-fish-and-bird-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-059-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Fish and Bird Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-and-bird-2006-059/) - [![Two confronting roosters with fanned tails facing each other amid green palm fronds on a yellow ground. Roosters, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-060/chico-da-silva-by-baba-roosters-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-75x110cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-060-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Roosters Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/roosters-2006-060/) - [![A large red-spotted serpent winding across the composition among smaller fish on a yellow ground. Fish Birds and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-061/chico-da-silva-by-baba-fish-birds-and-snake-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-061-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Fish Birds and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-birds-and-snake-2006-061/) - [![A tall tree trunk at center surrounded by birds, a serpent and a lizard on a warm orange ground. Birds Snakes Caiman and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-062/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-snakes-caiman-and-insects-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-062-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds Snakes Caiman and Insects Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-snakes-caiman-and-insects-2006-062/) - [![A large pastel long-necked bird at center surrounded by smaller birds and a coiling snake on an orange ground. Birds and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-063/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-and-snake-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-063-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-and-snake-2006-063/) - [![A large reclining bird with striped wing surrounded by smaller creatures on a swirling pastel ground. Bird Snake Toad and Armadillo, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-065/chico-da-silva-by-baba-bird-snake-toad-and-armadillo-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x107cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-065-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Bird Snake Toad and Armadillo Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/bird-snake-toad-and-armadillo-2006-065/) - [![Brightly patterned birds in flight above stylized fish swimming over a pale green-yellow sea. Fish and Birds, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-066/chico-da-silva-by-baba-fish-and-birds-2006-acrylic-on-canvas-74x109cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-066-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Fish and Birds Chico da Silva by Babá, 2006](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/fish-and-birds-2006-066/) - [![A large dotted fish surrounded by shrimp, insects and sea creatures against an orange ground. Toad Snake Birds and Insects, Chico da Silva by Babá, 2011, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-042/chico-da-silva-by-baba-toad-snake-birds-and-insects-2011-acrylic-on-canvas-80x120cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-042-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Toad Snake Birds and Insects Chico da Silva by Babá, 2011](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/toad-snake-birds-and-insects-2011-042/) - [![Large pale long-necked birds, small bright birds and a wavy serpent against a fiery orange and red ground. Birds and Snake, Chico da Silva by Babá, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-051/chico-da-silva-by-baba-birds-and-snake-undated-acrylic-on-canvas-75x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-051-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds and Snake Chico da Silva by Babá](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/birds-and-snake-051/)