• Also known as Manoel da Cunha e Silva, was a Brazilian colonial painter.
• Born into slavery in Rio de Janeiro, in the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
• Cunha took his surname from the family for whom his enslaved mother worked at the time of his birth.
• He showed talent for painting from an early age and began to study with João de Sousa.
• Cunha completed his most famous work in 1757: a half-length portrait of Gomes Freire de Andrade, First Count of Bobadela, painted for the Convent of Santa Teresa.
• Cunha’s reputation as an artist grew, eventually reaching wealthy businessman José Dias da Cruz.
• In 1794, Cunha completed a commission for a series of paintings in the Novitiate Chapel of the Church of the Third Carmelite Order.
• Around the same time, he completed a series of portraits of benefactors for a charity, Holy House of Mercy.
• Cunha left for Lisbon around 1795, but it is unclear how long he stayed.
• Upon his return to Brazil, Cruz then purchased Cunha’s freedom.
• Unencumbered by enslaved status, Cunha took on a wider range of commissions and established himself as a painting instructor, teaching twelve students in his home.
• Cunha died on April 27, 1809 and is buried in Rio de Janeiro.
