Faria, a maître of the cinematographic poster

Resumen

The present work, based on a doctoral thesis of the author, proposes an expanded view of studies focused on cinema by presenting the work of the Brazilian graphic artist Cândido Aragonez de Faria, in the Parisian period of his production (1882–1911), when he became a notable graphic artist specialized in the entertainment industry and as a pioneer of cinematographic posters. Discusses the term petit maître that is usually attributed to it and proposes a review of the history of graphic communication that also contemplates the artists considered by “average” as an object of study. Addresses the valuation of the poster at the end of the nineteenth century, largely anchored in a modernist perspective of construction of its history, a factor that contributed to the later historical erasure of this artist. Emphasizes the role of the photographic image as the main imagery reference in the graphic work of Cândido de Faria and taste for the “realism” of the audiences in this period. Addresses his pioneering production of posters for the film company Pathé, highlighting his protagonism as a collaborator inserted in the strategies of presentation and legitimation of the first cinema adopted by this company, as well as the influence of different instances of the urban visual culture of this period in his work. Finally, it claims the insertion of Cândido de Faria, and other artists who like him were committed to the “business of the printed image”, as deserving of further academic investigation.