The contribution of Italian immigrants to the iconography of Brazilian Modernism: building national identity through the depiction of food

Abstract

The turn of the 19th century was a time of social and economic changes in Brazil. The country grew due to
coffee production and searched for more presence abroad recurring to pictorial representations that would
approximate the country with European cultural values. At the beginning of the 20th century, however,
Modernism ascended in the arts scene, changing the way the country was represented. The movement
intended to build a national identity that reflected the actual Brazilian society, breaking with old paradigms
and broadening pictorial representation. To make up for the workforce shortage, Brazil opened itself to
immigration. German, Portuguese, Spanish and, especially, Italian immigrants arrived in the new world. In
Fine Arts, eating habits, trade and agricultural techniques, Italian immigrants played an important role in the
building of Brazilian identity. This paper describes the contribution of Italian immigrants and descendants to
Brazilian culture amidst the Modernism movement through the depiction of elements that intrinsically
compound Brazil’s and Italy’s diet, economic and social formation, namely, coffee, bread and the wide range
of food supply of street markets.