ABSTRACT
Hélio Eichbauer was one of the most innovative and influential Brazilian designers of the latter part of the twentieth century and was largely responsible for the radical transformation of stage design in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America. Eichbauer studied with Josef Svoboda in Prague and, as he began his career, he introduced surprisingly disparate visual and scenographic practices from Europe and Cuba, modernist Brazilian painting, and the aesthetics of the revue theatres and other popular forms. Eichbauer's set and costume designs for O rei da vela (The Candle King) are considered landmarks in Brazilian theatre and scenography, aligning theatre with the Tropicália movement. Eichbauer also collaborated with the singer and composer Caetano Veloso.
