Natureza Morta com Groselhas Vermelhas (Still Life With Red Currants) - Clara von Sivers

                                 
Natureza Morta com Groselhas Vermelhas (Still Life With Red Currants) - Clara von Sivers
Coleção privada
OST - 54x70 - 1890

Ranúnculos em Cafeteira de Prata (Buttercups in a Silver Coffee Pot) - Anne Cotterill

                                         
Ranúnculos em Cafeteira de Prata (Buttercups in a Silver Coffee Pot) - Anne Cotterill
Coleção privada
Litografia - 39x29

Calêndulas (Marigolds) - Anne Cotterill

                                                         
Calêndulas (Marigolds) - Anne Cotterill
Coleção privada
Litografia - 26x31

Buquê de Primavera (Spring Bouquet) - Angelina Drumaux

Buquê de Primavera (Spring Bouquet) - Angelina Drumaux

Coleção privada

OST - 92x65

Retrato de Dom João VI (Retrato de Dom João VI) - Jean Baptiste Debret

Retrato de Dom João VI (Retrato de Dom João VI) - Jean Baptiste Debret

Museu Nacional de Belas Artes Rio de Janeiro Brasil
OST - 60x42 - 1817

Cartaz de Propaganda da Primeira Guerra, "I Want You for U.S. Army", 1917, Estados Unidos - James Montgomery Flagg

                                   

Cartaz de Propaganda da Primeira Guerra, "I Want You for U.S. Army", 1917, Estados Unidos - James Montgomery Flagg
Propaganda de guerra - Estados Unidos

Cartaz / Poster    

The top hat, the goatee, the burning eyes and that long accusing finger – the "I Want YOU!" poster has become one of the most iconic images in American history. Used by the U.S. Army to recruit troops during the First World War, this image transformed the character of Uncle Sam into a stern and powerful figure. His persuasive pose and marked demeanour proved to be a hugely effective tool during the war, and a staggering four million copies of it were printed between 1917 and 1918.
While the poster continues to be recognised the world over, its creator's name has not fared quite as well. Born in New York in 1877, James Montgomery Flagg was a hugely prolific illustrator, who – at the peak of his career – was said to have been the highest paid magazine illustrator in all of America. Talented from a young age, Flagg had sold his first illustration at the age of twelve. By fourteen he had become a regular illustrator for Life, and two years after that he joined the staff of its rival publication Judge.

Flagg was an outspoken man who didn't suffer fools gladly. An unapologetic fan of fast cars and beautiful women, he took great pleasure in his work and in return it brought him fame and fortune. He lived the life of a bohemian, mixing with celebrities and sycophants and earning a reputation for being one of the most colourful and cantankerous characters of his day.

When the war broke, Flagg was thirty-nine years of age and so was too old to enlist. Instead, he volunteered his skills to the Division of Pictorial Publicity (DPP) – a group initially established by the illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. The DPP had grown out of an effort to use illustration as a means to promote the war effort and it was quickly absorbed into Woodrow Wilson's Committee on Public Information. At its peak, it held over three-hundred illustrators in its ranks, including the likes of Howard Chandler Christy, N.C. Wyeth and even a young Norman Rockwell.

Flagg, who had already created the "I Want YOU!" image for a July 1916 issue of Leslie’s Weekly, produced forty-six posters for the DPP's war effort – many of them featuring the character of Uncle Sam. For Flagg, the use of this national personification was the ideal tool for propaganda, and while images of Uncle Sam had existed since as early as the 1800s, it was Flagg's version that cemented the identity that we think of today.

Flagg saw little issue in borrowing images and ideas from other artists and he did this frequently. “How well the idea was handled was far more interesting to him than its origin” noted Susan E. Meyer in her 1974 biography of the illustrator. His fondness for appropriation is particularly clear when comparing his Uncle Sam poster to Alfred Leete's poster Lord Kitchener Wants You from 1914. Here, Flagg has simply replaced the British War Secretary with Uncle Sam, and while the illustrator never denied or admitted the similarity between the two works, the resemblance is clearly evident.

At the time, Flagg's Uncle Sam felt like a dynamic and exciting re-imagining of the character. Uncle Sam had always been portrayed as a folksy and friendly type, but under Flagg's expressive brush, America was to be shown as a handsome and robust figure. Whether it was through patriotism, thriftiness or vanity, the story goes that Flagg decided to use himself as the model for this new rendition of Sam. According to Meyer, the illustrator was acutely aware of his own good looks and was particularly proud of his shapely eyebrows. Ageing himself with makeup, a fake goatee and wearing the now iconic hat, Flagg composed the image in front of a mirror and thus Uncle Sam was made in Flagg's own image.

As the years passed, the illustrator began to look more-and-more like his original creation and he continued to use himself as the model for several more posters – even occasionally posing for press photos in full Uncle Sam garb. It was a decision that won him the admiration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who praised his resourcefulness and noted that his methods suggested that he had "Yankee forebears".
After the First World War, Flagg returned to working with a number of advertising and publishing clients. Despite the fading lustre of illustration's “Golden Age”, he continued to have success – particularly in magazines where nearly every major publisher wanted to work with him. He drew caricatures of movie stars, illustrated a handful of books and even wrote an autobiography. When America returned to war in 1941, his posters were suddenly back in demand. Millions more of his iconic Uncle Sam poster were printed and the image continued to be just as effective.

Unfortunately, as the post-war era dawned, the world had changed too much for Flagg. Illustrators needed to work fast to adapt to the changing world of mass markets and colour photography and Flagg found that his style of illustration was quickly falling out of fashion. Drifting into obscurity, he found himself trapped in a world that he deplored. His vision was failing and his health had left him incapable of enjoying the playboy lifestyle that he had once so much adored. “I really died twenty years ago” he noted, “but nobody had the nerve to bury me”.

James Montgomery Flagg died on May 27, 1960, and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. Despite once being one of the most celebrated figures in American culture, only twenty people came to pay their respects. It was a sad end for a once much-loved figure. Yet today, his poster remains one of the most iconic images of the twentieth-century; a lasting icon that symbolises the power of patriotism. This, I feel, is an achievement that even Flagg himself could not bemoan.

Cartaz de Propaganda da Primeira Guerra, "Your King & Country Need You", 1914, Inglaterra - Lawson Wood

Cartaz de Propaganda da Primeira Guerra, "Your King & Country Need You", 1914, Inglaterra - Lawson Wood

Propaganda de guerra - Inglaterra

Cartaz / Poster                                         

This British First World War poster places a soldier of a Scottish regiment at a Belgium street corner, ready to fight against Germany which had invaded Belgium in August 1914.

Several British First World War posters refer to the international Treaty of 1839 which guaranteed Belgium's neutrality and independence. The Treaty had been signed by Germany, but when it invaded Belgium in August 1914, the German Chancellor referred to the Treaty as just a 'scrap of paper'. This statement became a powerful propaganda tool for the British government as it sought public support for the war, aiming to arouse sympathy for Belgium and encourage enlistment.

Carta Geográfica do Território do Acre por Plácido de Castro, 1907, Estado do Acre, Brasil (Carta Geographica do Territorio do Acre) - Plácido de Castro

                             
Carta Geográfica do Território do Acre por Plácido de Castro, 1907, Estado do Acre, Brasil (Carta Geographica do Territorio do Acre) - Plácido de Castro
Estado do Acre - AC
Mapa

Mapa de São Paulo da Revolução de 1932 "Esta he a Carta Verdadeira da Revolução q Houve no Estado de São Paulo no Ano de MCMXXXII" - J. Wasth Rodrigues

                             
Mapa de São Paulo da Revolução de 1932 "Esta he a Carta Verdadeira da Revolução q Houve no Estado de São Paulo no Ano de MCMXXXII" - J. Wasth Rodrigues
Mapa - 48x68 - Provavelmente 1932

Este é um mapa clandestino, que poderia ter causado a prisão de seu autor e o fechamento da tipografia. Isso porque logo após a repressão da tentativa de secessão, em 1932, quem ousasse imprimir um mapa da São Paulo “Constitucionalista” (como se autoproclamava o movimento separatista), assumia os riscos de represália das autoridades a serviço do governo central. O exemplar da figura 16 foi encontrado 45 anos mais tarde no teto de uma tipografia, onde tinha sido ocultado por temor de que o mesmo fosse encontrado. No original se vê claramente os exércitos de São Paulo e do resto do Brasil, com suas bandeiras e os aviões que ameaçavam bombardear a cidade. No canto superior direito, um brasão de São Paulo é colocado sobre o território mineiro. Já no canto inferior esquerdo, entre um bandeirante e um soldado constitucionalista, um cartucho traz as palavras “Esta é a verdadeira carta da revolução que ocorreu em São Paulo no ano de MCMXXXII”.

Em 1972 as edições Hamburgo assumiram o controle da Weiss e Companhia Ltda., uma das mais antigas tipografias do Brasil. Como o edifício fora dilapidado, era necessário fazer uma grande reforma e quando se removeu o teto falso de uma das salas, encontrou-se, entre os escombros, um rolo de papéis. Os trabalhadores mais antigos reconheceram o trabalho de José Wasth Rodrigues (1891-1957), desenhista, ilustrador e historiador paulista, também conhecido por ilustrar as obras de Monteiro Lobato e os quadros do Museu Paulista, a pedido de Affonso d’Escragnolle Taunay. Eles recordaram que, encerrada a Revolução, os soldados foram procurar a tipografia, pois seu proprietário havia sido denunciado por haver impresso uma carta “separatista”. As matrizes, pedras que pesavam de 30 a 40 quilos, foram quebradas, mas algumas cartas, verdadeiras obras de arte impressas em seis cores (ainda hoje se utiliza um máximo de quatro) foram preservadas e escondidas.

Em sua representação, Rodrigues emprega recursos característicos da cartografia dos séculos XV e XVI. No canto inferior direito, por exemplo, o Oceano Atlântico aparece identificado, em latim, como Mare Oceanus Atl. Das profundezas desse mar, Netuno emerge em um monstro marinho e conclama os paulistas à guerra. Além disso, o interior do continente, justamente sobre o território dos estados vizinhos, é representado apenas com rotas de rumo que saem de três rosas dos ventos. Usadas nas cartas náuticas para indicarem os rumos a seguir para se atingir um dado porto, tal representação passa a ideia de que São Paulo era uma ilha.

Cartaz de Propaganda da Revolução Constitucionalista de 1932, "Para Completar o Batalhão Aliste-se M.M.D.C.", Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

                                                     
Cartaz de Propaganda da Revolução Constitucionalista de 1932, "Para Completar o Batalhão Aliste-se M.M.D.C.", Estado de São Paulo, Brasil
Estado de São Paulo - SP
Propaganda da Revolução Constitucionalista 1932
Cartaz / Poster