Born in Cerro, Minas Geiras, Brazil, Belmiro completed his studies at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes in Rio in 1877 and travelled to France, where he worked under Jules Lefebvre. He returned to Brazil and succeeded Pedro Weingartner as Professor at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in 1893. He travelled regularly to Europe, usually basing himself in Paris and is now thought of as the first and possibly the sole Brazilian impressionist