Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda better known as Mario Miranda or Mario de Miranda was a popular and beloved Goan cartoonist. He recently made news during the 2023 G20 summit, in a case of copyright infringement. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 2012. He is best known for his satirical humour depicting the lifestyles and the changing trends of the Goan locale. He held over 22 solo shows globally.
Mario Miranda’s Life and Legacy
To say that Miranda was a born artist would be an understatement. He had been sketching since he was a child. While in school, he sold personalised postcards to his friends. He began his career as a cartoonist at The Illustrated Weekly of India. Soon, he was thrust into the limelight, becoming a regular in The Femina, The Economic Times, and The Times of India. With the grant offered by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Mario Miranda spread his excellence to foreign lands, getting published in Lilliput, Mad, and Punch (all British humour magazines). During this time, he conducted several exhibitions and workshops.
He had worked closely with noted slice-of-life cartoonist RK Laxman. On an invitation by United States Information Services, Mario Miranda got a chance to promote his artwork and also formed a dialogue with Charles M Schultz (known for Peanuts) and Herblock (The Washington Post).
Mario Miranda Art Style
Mario Miranda had always been admired for his keen observational skills and his ability to instil humour even in the most mundane situations. If we were to explain Mario Miranda cartoons, we would probably describe it as an interaction. Wrapped up in a single frame he connoted the lifestyles and dealings of the society. Through his globetrotting adventures, pushing Mario Miranda tiles to international audiences, he was able to capture the vast differences between geographical avenues of life. Despite never drawing a political cartoon at all, it would be incorrect to say that his cartoons weren’t inherently political. In most of his artworks, such as the one below, we can sense the plea for grassroots reforms. It is one of the reasons, why Mario Miranda art has such a special place in our hearts.
When one thinks of Mario Miranda, one thinks of cartoons (just a few laughs can’t hurt) and not Mario Miranda paintings. However, in 2005, Indian architect Gerard da Cunha went out on a mission to recover his artwork for his book. Through surviving murals, private diaries, and Mario’s collection, he was only able to recover 30% of his oeuvre. But it is enough to describe the creative overflow, which found a medium through charcoal, colour, and pen-and-ink. His journals are a masterclass in life and the small nuances.
While his legacy has become synonymous with the Goal lifestyle (Cafe Mondegar murals), Mario Miranda paintings were criticised too. The female figures in popular Mario Miranda characters such as ‘Miss Nimbupani’, the Bollywood starlet or ‘Miss Fonseca’, the advertising secretary were ‘overtly sexualised.’ Do we agree that these characters were curvaceous? YES! But that might not be the only reason. At the time, working women were branded as ‘different’, working in male-dominated offices and spaces. Hence, this visual grammar may be attributed to bringing that ‘difference’ out to the public eye.
Mario Miranda Gallery Goa
In 2011, after Mario Miranda’s demise, his family established Mario Miranda Museum, Goa. At present, six establishments all named Mario Miranda Gallery are run by the family. They undertake the task of authenticating his artwork, granting permission, publishing his books, and organizing exhibitions. If you are ever near, you may find several trinkets plastered with Mario Miranda art works.
Housed inside the Mario Miranda Gallery are several of his original paintings, and sketches, curated by Cunha. Additionally, one may expect a journey through the artist’s life based on the news clippings, old photos, and interviews. But what feels like to be a stroll through an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ amusement park is the majestic gardens embracing lifesize Mario Miranda art works.
Image Courtesy – Oscar de Noronha
