Capa "ABC - Revista Portugueza" 

Curator: Emmerico Nunes's cover illustration, "ABC - Revista Portugueza," immediately strikes one with its captivating stylization. What are your initial impressions? Editor: The color, predominantly that vivid red, establishes an almost theatrical presence. And then, this graphic division of space created with dots and lines lends a certain dynamism. Curator: This was indeed a period embracing dynamism! In the early 20th century, many artists engaged with the burgeoning magazine industry, utilizing bold imagery to capture a rapidly changing society and new readership demographics. Editor: The woman's features—her exaggerated eyes, the deliberate flattening of her nose—seem to depart from naturalistic representation, hinting towards caricature. Curator: Exactly. The artist here evokes elements of Art Deco while contributing to broader conversations around the aesthetic ideals and representation of women. We can consider how the “New Woman” of the time, asserting autonomy through fashion and lifestyle choices, is subtly refracted through Nunes’s vision. The artist seems conscious of visual economies circulating in modern urban life, reflecting the shifting identities and gender dynamics. Editor: There's a simplicity, an almost naive handling of form and color, but the geometric patterns prevent this from appearing purely illustrative. I’d argue it successfully bridges a certain commercial viability with, at least the appearance of, high art. Curator: That intersection is precisely where its intrigue lies. How does one visually capture modernity, the shifting landscape of cultural identity, or societal progress? And what is the artist’s own position within the milieu from which it originates? These elements become focal points in exploring the piece. Editor: Indeed, looking at the distribution of compositional elements, one sees clear purpose. Perhaps it is an instance of using decorative arts to create new patterns of visual consumption that reinforce and disseminate these concepts to new publics. Thank you, that has illuminated new readings of this work for me. Curator: The pleasure was all mine! It is a valuable object for reconsidering ideas circulating a century ago that still resonate today.