Art History, connoisseurship, and South-American collections

on the trail of the reception of Bernard Berenson in Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/61dm1h50

Keywords:

Bernard Berenson, connoisseurship, art historiography in Brazil, MASP collection, social history of art

Abstract

This article examines the practice of connoisseurship as articulated by Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) and its reception in the South American art world, with particular attention to Brazil. Drawing on dispersed archival materials, Berenson’s social networks across Europe and the Americas, the provenance of works in the collection of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), and the circulation of his translated writings in Argentina and Brazil, we reconstruct his role—together with local intermediaries—in shaping collections of traditional European art. The article also reflects on the continued presence of connoisseurship in today’s art system and its paradoxical relationship with the technical and scientific analyses that expanded throughout the twentieth century and substantially advanced the material study of artworks.

Author Biography

  • Ana Gonçalves Magalhães, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP

    Ana Magalhães é historiadora de arte, curadora e Professora Titular do Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC USP). É especialista em artes visuais do século XX, com uma abordagem transnacional do Modernismo, sobretudo nas relações Itália/Brasil. Foi professora convidada em universidades nos Estados Unidos e na Europa,  Pesquisadora Visitante no Getty Research Institute, em Los Angeles, e pesquisadora curatorial na Bibliotheca Hertziana, em Roma.

    Entre suas publicações, destacam-se Discours aux Tupiniquins ou Nambás de Mário Pedrosa (2015), Classicismo Moderno. Margherita Sarfatti e a Pintura Italiana no MAC USP (2016), e Boccioni no Brasil. Reavaliando Formas Únicas da Continuidade no Espaço e sua História Material (2022).

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Published

2026-01-13

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2025): Art History and Historiography: Current Issues and Future Horizons

Section

Thematic Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 Ana Gonçalves Magalhães

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How to Cite

Gonçalves Magalhães, A. (2026). Art History, connoisseurship, and South-American collections: on the trail of the reception of Bernard Berenson in Brazil. Imagem: Revista De História Da Arte, 7(2), 11-28. https://doi.org/10.34024/61dm1h50