Humor and politics in brazilian republic: the Don Quixote magazine (1895-1903), by Ângelo Agostini

Abstract

The political discussions that marked the crisis of the Second Empire (1840-1889) were projected into the printed media and had a prominent place in the newspapers and magazines at the time. In this context, the abolitionist debate, the perspective of secularization of the State and the effects of the Paraguayan War (1865-1871) were inspirations for the criticisms of Ângelo Agostini who, through caricature and humor, projected his vision of the Proclamation of the Republic (1889) and the problems that surrounded the first years of the new government regime. In this context, the objective of this article is to analyze the images highlighted by the artist in Revista Don Quixote (1895-1903), notably opting for animated figures that have as references Cervantine characters that inspired the Italian-Brazilian artist. With this analysis material, the aim is to perceive, from the cartoonist's perspective, the problems inherent in the first years of the national Republic, still burdened by legacies of the difficult transition conditioned by the end of the government of D. Pedro II, mediated in the illustration by the effect of humor.

Keywords: Don Quixote; Ângelo Agostini; humor; politics; Republic.