The Sovereignty of Constitutional Countries

The Public and Common People in Angelo Agostini’s Cartoons

Abstract

Illustrated periodicals from 19th century Brazil are a subject that has been evoking increasing interest among scholars from several different research fields. This trend has led to an enhanced awareness of the potentialities and difficulties of studying this subject, and the present article aims at contributing to that process. More specifically, it intends to stress that the illustrated press is a valuable type of source material for the analysis of the concepts pertaining to the “public” and “common people” that were typical in the Brazilian political culture of the second half of the 19th century. Focusing on images created by Angelo Agostini (1843-1910) – one of the most popular drawing artists of the Province of Sao Paulo and of the Imperial Court in Rio de Janeiro, and specifically on his work of the 1860s and 1870s, the intention is to reveal meanings embedded in his cartoons, which were addressed to the readership in general, and to the Empire’s citizens in particular. The premise is that, as the themes of “common people” and “ the public” are important figures in Agostini’s newspapers, investigating their images is an excellent way to advance the research on this author, who remains one of greatest enigmas of the 19th century Brazilian satirical weekly publications.