Marcio Oliveira

by Marcio Oliveira (originally written in 98 for Maquis, a Geocities homepage I used to keep) After the First World War the echoes of the European cultural production started to arrive at Brazilian shores with somewhat increased intensity. The European influence reached its highest point in 1922, when the 'week of modern art' was held in São Paulo, with exhibits of paintings, sculptures, literature, theater, etc. To this date the week of 22 remains as the most preeminent manifestation of the introduction of the avant garde movement into the Brazilian cultural production. For its architectural portion, this important period culminated in 1929 with the construction of the first 'modernist' house designed by the Russian immigrant Gregory Warchavchik in São Paulo. The Brazilian architectural movement was decisively influenced by its European counterpart during the 1929 visit made by French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in which he lec