Cosmopolitanism, Cubism and New Art: Latin American Itineraries

Abstract

This text discusses the Modernist movement, in particular Cubism, within the Latin American context, focusing on the art scenes in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Mexico, Montevideo, and Santiago de Chile in the first decades of the twentieth century. Informed by a wide range of new primary sources, Wechsler analyzes the complex dynamics and movements of ideas, texts, works, and people, arguing that we need to rethink Modernism in terms of its contributors, artistic itineraries, exchanges and the appropriation of aesthetics within the Latin American and European metropolis. A process of “co-production” and convergence, Modernism is a heterogeneous movement that is shaped by a plurality of networks of artists and cultural scenes on both sides of the Atlantic. Among the artists discussed are Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueros, Rafael Rafael Barradas, Joaquín Torres García, Emilio Pettoruti, Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Pablo Curatella Manes, and others.