Maria Martins: Echoes of the Amazon in Bronze Born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1894, Maria de Lourdes Alves—later known as Maria Martins—emerged from a world steeped in European artistic traditions to forge a uniquely Brazilian voice within the international art scene. Her life was a tapestry woven with travel, personal transformation, and an unwavering fascination with the myths and landscapes of her homeland, particularly the Amazon rainforest. While initially trained in music, a pivotal encounter with sculpture ignited a lifelong passion, leading her to Paris where she studied under Catheri…