Brazilian fever? Judging by the rash of shows, in Brazil as well as abroad, occasioned by the quincentennial of the Portuguese arrival, there may be evidence of widespread contagion in venues on both sides of the Atlantic. “Brasil 1920–1950” promises at the very least a serious reconsideration of the Latin American giant's rich cultural history. Focusing on the period of Modernismo, the exhibition encompasses the visual arts, literature, music, film, urbanism, and architecture—an exercise in interdisciplinarity worthy of high Brazilian modernism itself. The team of curators, led by Jorge Schwartz, includes several top Brazilian scholars, and the accompanying catalogue should become the definitive reference on the period.

— Adriano Pedrosa