The Body is the Message: Democracy and Authoritarianism in Belmonte's Cartoons (1938-1942)

Abstract

How to escape censorship when graphic art is under surveillance by an authoritarian government? Which subterfuges can artists use to enforce their message, so to make themselves understood by their audience? These are the two questions inspiring the following paper, which analyzes the production of  Belmonte, a famous caricaturist from São Paulo who gained prominence between the 1920s and 1940s. Guided by a Cultural History of the Political and by the documentary method for analysis of images, the article demonstrates how the Brazilian artist experienced and managed to overcome censorship during Getúlio Vargas' Estado Novo. In particular, one of his main strategies, i.e., the performativity of the caricatured characters, is scrutinized.