Monteiro Lobato's 1917 critique of Anita Malfatti placed within global resistance to modernism
As Brazil approaches the centenary of Modern Art Week, Tadeu Chiarelli revisits Monteiro Lobato's 1917 critique of Anita Malfatti's exhibition, positioning it within a larger global conflict. He contextualizes Lobato's response amid the tension between traditional mimetic art and the rise of modernism. Chiarelli references international dismissals of modern art, such as Émile Zola's 1896 critique of Impressionism and a 1909 Munich article that branded modern artists as 'incurable lunatics.' Lobato characterized Malfatti's creations as 'paranoia or mystification,' reflecting a defensive stance. In 1917, as European avant-gardes faced backlash, Lobato, a modern critic, leaned towards nationalist naturalism, revealing his wavering beliefs in his 1918 commendation of traditional artist Pedro Alexandrino.
Key facts
- Monteiro Lobato's 1917 critique of Anita Malfatti's exhibition is recontextualized within a global battle between mimetic and modernist art paradigms.
- The analysis cites international parallels, including Émile Zola's 1896 critique and hostile European receptions to Post-Impressionism around 1905-1909.
- Lobato's text dismissed modernist art as 'paranoia or mystification' and invoked a lineage of mimetic artists from Praxiteles to Rodin and Zuloaga.
- The year 1917 marked a point of intensified resistance in Brazil, coinciding with a European 'Return to Order' that rejected avant-garde radicalism.
- Lobato positioned himself as a modern critic advocating for a nationalist naturalism, distinct from both academic art and the new modernist wave.
- His shaken stance after Malfatti's show led him to champion the traditional painter Pedro Alexandrino in 1918.
- The philosopher Arthur C. Danto's concept of an 'era of art' (c. 1400 onward) and its end is referenced as a theoretical framework.
- Clement Greenberg's narrative of modernism, with Manet playing a Kantian role, is discussed within Danto's historical analysis.
Entities
Artists
- Monteiro Lobato
- Anita Malfatti
- Arthur C. Danto
- Clement Greenberg
- Giorgio Vasari
- Édouard Manet
- Immanuel Kant
- Roger Fry
- Émile Zola
- Praxíteles
- Rafael
- Joshua Reynolds
- Albrecht Dürer
- Anders Zorn
- Auguste Rodin
- Ignacio Zuloaga
- Pedro Alexandrino
- Pedro Américo
- Almeida Júnior
- Angelo Agostini
- Felix Ferreira
- Hans Belting
- Walter Benjamin
- Iberê Camargo
- Jasper Johns
- Henri Matisse
- Marie Laurencin
Locations
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Greece
- Italy
- England
- Germany
- Sweden
- France
- Spain
- London
- Paris
- Munique
- Europe
- United States