Germain Bazin and Iphan

networks relations and editorial about Brazilian baroque

Abstract

Germain Bazin, chief curator of the Painting Section of the Louvre Museum (1950-1965), contributed to the consolidation of baroque art as a paradigm of Brazilian colonial artistic production. Considered by Rodrigo Melo Franco de Andrade as "the eminent historian and art critic [who] observed, with foundation, [...] the most baroque manifestations of Brazilian architecture," the French historian assisted to confirm fundamental aspects of Iphan's speeches about the baroque, through diverse actions such as writing articles for newspapers and specialized magazines, holding lectures, promotion of exhibitions and, above all, the participation in bibliographic projects on art and baroque architecture of Brazil. This article briefly reconstructs Bazin's European trajectory and presents an approximation to the personal and professional relations established by him, which enabled him to immerse himself in Brazilian cultural heritage. Finally, we will outline the main editorial projects about Brazilian Baroque art and architecture in which he participated and that had the Iphan as a fundamental collaborating institution.