Sérgio Milliet: art criticism on Anita Malfatti

Abstract

Many authors have discussed Anita Malfatti’s paintings, notably Mário de Andra­de, her close friend and art critic, who wrote about her relevance for the Brazilian Modern Art, through articles and letters. Besides Má­rio de Andrade and Oswald de Andrade, ano­ther important author of this period was Sér­gio Milliet, who promoted the small group of Brazilian artists and writers in the Parisian cultural scene and wrote about them in many occasions. This essay presents and discusses Milliet’s art criticism on Anita Malfatti, in or­der to verify how the author interpreted the transformations in her art during the 1920’s, and subsequently, when Brazilian writers were concerned about presenting a history of Bra­zilian Modern Art.