Brazilian Woodcut Prints

First published in 2001. The North East of Brazil is renowned for its rich and vibrant popular culture. The region''s festivals, music, poetry and popular religious rituals have attracted increasing interest from around he world in recent decades, and the woodcuts that are the subject of this book are one of the most striking expressions of that cultural dynamism. They have been a significant art form in Brazil since the 1940s, when they began to be produced in large quantities as illustrations for the covers of cheap pamphlets of poetry sold in streets and markets throughout the North East, where they were known as Literatura de Cordel or ''string literature'' - so-called because the pamphlets were frequently displayed on cords hung between posts. This work, the first detailed study of Brazilian woodcut prints in the English language deals with the origins and development of the art form, its themes, the traditions and culture of the Brazilian North East, social and political issues, humour and satire, all lavishly illustrated. As this superb study shows, the Brazilian woodcut print has all the power, quickness and wit of a great popular art.