Marie Laurencin in Brazil: the press, marchands and the global circulation of modern art in urban centers

Abstract

This article aims to reflect upon the valorization of Marie Laurencin’s paintings in Brazil in the 1940s and 1950s based on the analysis of the role of the press and marchands in the international urban circuits through which her works circulated during the first half of the twentieth century. With the development of the modern art market, together with an ever more globalized world, the path of the modernists’ works break national boundaries. Laurencin, an artist socially linked to the cubist group, enjoys a privileged place in this scenario and her art is imported as part of a vanguard’s attempt to enter the global market. In Brazil, the circulation of her work is distinguished by a frequent presence of mentions to her work in the press. By tracing a brief reflection on the circulation of her works in France, Germany and the USA, we expect to comprehend with greater clarity the process identified in the country and integrate it to the
production networks and global diffusions of modern art. It is possible to imply that the valorization of the artist was a result of the work of the press, critics and dealers and that, likewise, the oblivion of her work undergoes a process of exclusion and silencing in 20th century art historiography.