The aim of the article is to analyze the construction of the image of Brazilian author João Ribeiro as an intellectual by means of biographies written by people close to him. It was intended to show to what extent such works were influenced not only by affective issues, but also by factors closely related to the time in which they were written. Attending to the gaps left by the biographies under analysis, it was found that the biographers made an effort to build an intellectual profile of John Ribeiro leaving out key moments in the constitution of this writer as an intellectual. In short, Ribeiro's biographers focused precisely on the time he was already recognized in the Brazilian literary world. From that finding, the choice was to investigate the time the author settled down in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and to highlight the obstacles he faced to conquer the space that would make him recognized, as well as his political perspectives. For that matter, the writer's personal documentation was tackled, especially the mail exchanges with friends, and the clues found in the writings of his biographers.
João Ribeiro; biography; historiography