at a glance

escadaria selarón, or seleron's staircase, is a set of world-famous steps in rio de janeiro. also known as mosaico selarón, this is the work of the painter and artist jorge selarón, a chilean national who claimed it started as a tribute to his friends, the brazilian people.

in 1990, selarón began renovating the stairs that were in front of his house. the neighbors didn't like the colors at first, even though they were green, blue and yellow (the colors of the brazilian flag). it started out as a side-project, later it became motivated by the 1994 soccer world cup, but soon the mosaic became selarón's main pursuit. in order to fund the cost of the renovations, the artist sold paintings to tourists on the steps.

selarón used to tell the story of how he earned a living by selling paintings of a black pregnant woman, a topic that, however, he did not want to discuss in depth for personal reasons. selarón had said that although it was long and hard work, he felt the need to continue until all the stairs were completely covered in ceramic, tiles, and mirrors.