A Life Carved in Wood: The Story of Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos Agnaldo Manoel dos Santos, born on the idyllic island of Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil, in 1926, emerged as a profoundly original voice within Brazilian sculpture. His life, though tragically cut short in 1962, left an indelible mark on the nation’s artistic landscape. He wasn't formally trained in the traditional sense; his education was rooted in the rich cultural soil of Bahia – a place where African heritage intertwined with Catholicism and everyday life to create a unique aesthetic sensibility. Initially working as a studio assis…