Selarón Steps

Ahead of you rises a staircase that looks like a kaleidoscope. Behind every tile lies an obsession, that of a man who said his work would never be finished while he lived.

1The painter who came to stay

Jorge Selarón was born in Limache, Chile, in 1947, travelled through dozens of countries and settled in Rio in 1983, in a house beside this staircase. In 1990 he began fixing a few broken steps outside his door. The hobby became an obsession: neighbours mocked him, he sold paintings to buy materials and, bit by bit, he covered all 215 steps and 125 metres with tiles, ceramics and mirrors. Most of the pieces ended up being gifts from visitors around the world.

2The pregnant woman

Hundreds of hand-painted tiles show a pregnant African woman. Selarón claimed to have sold more than 25,000 paintings on that theme and, when asked why, said it was «a personal problem» from his past.

«This crazy and unique dream will only end on the day I die», he used to say.

3An ending without answers

On 10 January 2013 his burned body was found on these very steps. Weeks earlier he had reported threats from a former assistant. The circumstances of his death were never clearly explained to the public, which fuelled all kinds of rumours.

4What to look for

• Tiles from other countries: try to find one from your home town.
• The pregnant woman painted by Selarón.
• The Brazilian flag near the top, finished in 2010.