Chico da Silva was born in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in the Alto Tejo region, but moved to Ceará in northeastern Brazil as a child. He lived in several towns before settling in Fortaleza in 1935, where he remained until his death. His artistic journey began painting the whitewashed walls of fishermen's houses along Praia Formosa, using charcoal, bricks, leaves, and other materials he found around him to bring his drawings to life.
Jean-Pierre Chabloz (1910, Lausanne, Switzerland – 1984, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil), a Swiss critic and artist who relocated to Brazil in 1940 due to the Second World War, visited Fortaleza on a work trip in 1943. It was during this visit that he discovered Chico da Silva's drawings at the beach, an encounter that played a crucial role in the recognition and dissemination of da Silva’s work. This connection opened doors for his art to be showcased in major urban centers in Brazil, such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and across Europe in cities like Geneva, Neuchâtel, Lausanne, and Paris.
In his gouaches and paintings, Chico da Silva predominantly depicted creatures of the Amazon rainforest, including birds and fish, as well as imaginative figures like dragons. His works tell stories and myths from the oral traditions of northern Brazil, characterized by vibrant colors and intricate graphic details, including colorful threads and lines. Due to the originality of his style and compositions, he became a prominent figure in Brazilian folk art, achieving commercial success during his lifetime and drawing significant attention from critics.
Notable exhibitions featuring his work include: Francisco da Silva, Galerie Pour L'Art, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1950; Exposition d’Art Primitif et Moderne, Musée d'Ethnographie, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1956; 8 Peintres Naïfs Brésiliens, Galerie Jacques Massol, Paris, France, 1965; 9th São Paulo International Biennial, São Paulo, Brazil, 1967; Tradição e Ruptura: Síntese de Arte e Cultura Brasileiras, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil, 1984. In 1966, he was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 33rd Venice Biennale for his participation.
Today, Chico da Silva's works are part of numerous public collections, including the Museo del Barrio in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio), the Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo (MAC USP), and the Musée International d'Art Naïf Anatole Jakovsky in Nice, France.