Models of Modernity

Abstract

In the 19th century the artist needed to differentiate himself to excel. The personal image they built for themselves, however innovative, was the result of a process that had as a reference artists already successful. Our purpose with this article is to analyze some of the possible models of modernity that Brazilian artists had in the 19th century, and how they built their public images of modern artists based on these models. In order to carry out this analysis, we have used the critical fortune on the subject, documents written in the 19th century and (self)portraits of the artists contemplated in this article. It was possible to see that artists, instinctively or consciously, understood the need to project a compelling personal image to differentiate themselves and secure the public attention needed to gain a competitive advantage. The (self)construction of the public image of the artist was structured according to the circumstances, the country where he was, the models and representations in vogue, the opinion of the critics and the art market.