We try to conjugate the aesthetic discourse and the institutional dimension of the fine arts to investigate the transformations that occurred in this field in middle of 20th century, in Brazil. The period between 1945 and 1960 showed the process of formularization and affirmation of a set of artistic values in which the notions of authenticity and singularity were intrinsically related to the idea of freedom (of artistic experimentation and political positioning) and to the universalism of the French Revolution. This process was closely followed by a small but influential group of Brazilian art critics who echoed these quarrels back in Brazil and transformed the national artistic environment. The incorporation of those values and the participation of the Brazilian critics in the new artistic institutions of the period created a new arena for critical art production in Brazil. This arena was then centered in the individual and distanced of the old questions of national identity and nationalism that were central for the artistic production, with more or less intensity and focus, since middle of 19th century.
aesthetic; autonomy of form; modern art; nationalism