---
title: "Motifs: Chico da Silva, Brazilian painter"
description: "Dragons, birds, fish, snakes, roosters and insects: the repertoire that runs through the work of Chico da Silva and the Pirambu School."
canonical: https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/
lang: en
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
translations:
  en: https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/
  es: https://chicodasilva.org/es/motivos/
  fr: https://chicodasilva.org/fr/motifs/
  pt: https://chicodasilva.org/pt/motivos/
  ar: https://chicodasilva.org/ar/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AA/
  zh-Hans: https://chicodasilva.cn/%E4%B8%BB%E9%A2%98/
---

# Motifs

Dragons, birds, fish, snakes, roosters and insects: the repertoire that runs through the work of Chico da Silva and the Pirambu School, a vocabulary each disciple of the group expanded in their own way.

[All paintings →](https://chicodasilva.org/en/paintings/)

-   [![A peacock-tailed bird on a dark mound, with a second blue head, a butterfly and a cut branch. Peacock and Fantastic Bird, Chico da Silva, c. 1969, gouache on paper.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-086/chico-da-silva-peacock-and-fantastic-bird-undated-gouache-on-paper-50x72cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-086-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Birds 39](https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/birds/)
-   [![A large fish with a fan tail facing left, flanked by two smaller fish on a hatched ochre ground. Fish, Chico da Silva, c. 1966, gouache on paper.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-088/chico-da-silva-fish-undated-gouache-on-paper-54x74cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-088-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Fish 19](https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/fish/)
-   [![A horned dragon with a scaled tail, beneath a branch where two striped snakes coil. Dragon and Serpent, Chico da Silva, 1973, acrylic on paper.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-075/chico-da-silva-dragon-and-serpent-1973-acrylic-on-paper-hardboard-70x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-075-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Snakes 16](https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/snakes/)
-   [![A long-billed bird stooping toward a bristled insect, with a smaller bird in flight above. Two Birds and an Insect, Chico da Silva, c. 1969, gouache on paper.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-087/chico-da-silva-two-birds-and-an-insect-undated-gouache-on-paper-50x72cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-087-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Insects 13](https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/insects/)
-   [![Two roosters facing each other, with spiky crests and sweeping feathers on a black ground. Cockfight, Chico da Silva, 1983, acrylic on canvas.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-030/chico-da-silva-cockfight-1983-acrylic-on-canvas-50x70cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-030-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Roosters 12](https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/roosters/)
-   [![A horned dragon with a scaled tail, beneath a branch where two striped snakes coil. Dragon and Serpent, Chico da Silva, 1973, acrylic on paper.](https://img.chicodasilva.org/jcc-075/chico-da-silva-dragon-and-serpent-1973-acrylic-on-paper-hardboard-70x100cm-joao-cunha-collection-jcc-075-chicodasilva.org-640.jpg)Dragons 6](https://chicodasilva.org/en/motifs/dragons/)