Popular Modern Artist Darcy Penteado at 61

Darcy Penteado, one of Brazil’s most popular modern painters, died on Thursday of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a hospital spokesman said. Penteado, 61, had been ill with the disease for the last two years, the spokesman said.

The artist, who never hid his homosexuality, said in a television interview last year that he was ready to die. “Death may be the start of a new life. I’m only sad with the fact that homosexuals and drug addicts were chosen by society as scapegoats to justify the existence of AIDS,” he said.

There have been more than 2,000 confirmed cases of AIDS in Brazil, according to Health Ministry figures.