Lionello Venturi's presence in South American art criticism and historiography

Abstract

This project aims to investigate the presence of Lionello Venturi (Modena, 1885 - Rome, 1961), in South America, and in a more detailed way in Brazil, in the period from the 1940s, with the beginning of the institutionalization of modern art here, especially with the creation of the former MAM of São Paulo, until the 1960s (after the critic's death), when his name figures in numerous ways in the press related to art criticism in Brazil. Unlike his circulation in Argentina, where Poseidon, for example, publishes some of his books in the 1940s, Venturi never had any of his works translated and published in Brazil. However, his presence and legacy in the country's art criticism and history is perceived indirectly. One of the main traces of this legacy is the Second National Congress of Art Critics of 1961, which took place after his death, in which great Brazilian critics of the period paid their tribute to this figure they describe as a mentor for their critical practices. In Argentina, his collaboration with the magazine directed by critic Romero Brest, Ver y Estimar stands out, which in the same years published contributions from several of these Brazilian critics. Another point to be highlighted is the acquisition by Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho of works by the so-called Gruppo degli Otto for the collection of the former MAM between 1951 and 1954, both in the São Paulo Biennials and in the Venice Biennials of the quadrennium. This group of Italian artists, headed by Venturi, and, therefore, his criticism, also allows us to unravel the relationship between these institutions. Seeking Venturi's presence in Brazil - and more extensively in South America - is proposed as a way to understand not only the author's impact, but also the Italian artistic production and its collectionism here, allowing for an as yet unexplored approach in the study of modern art. (AU)