Angelo Agostini (April 8, 1843 – January 23, 1910) was an Italian-born Brazilian

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and founder of several publications, and although born in Italy, is considered the first Brazilian

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

Biography

Agostini was born in

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

, Italy, but following adolescence and art studies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, he arrived in Brazil in 1859 with his mother the singer Raquel Agostini, and settled. At an early age he published drawn work in the

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

publication ''Diabo Coxo'' on September 17, of 1864. Following more work published in ''Cabrião'' and ''Revista Arlequim'', Agostini produced a sequential image story serialised in ''Vida Fluminense'' titled ''As Aventuras de Nhô Quim'' (''The Adventures of Nhô Quim''). The first chapter published on January 30, 1869, the story involved themes of conflict between the agricultural and urban culture, and political commentary through visual storytelling capable of reaching a largely illiterate population. During the 1880s Agostini started the periodical '' Revista Illustrada'', which became noted for its illustrated coverage of the annual

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

. On January 27, 1883, the first chapter of ''As Aventuras do Zé Caipora'' (''The Adventures of Zé Caipora'') was published, starting a successful publication run of 35 episodes spread out over many years,. Achieving a multimedia impact, the series was printed in four editions, and inspired a popular song and two silent films. Agostini established the magazine ''Don Quixote'' in 1895, which lasted until 1906, and with Luiz Bartolomeu de Sousa e Silva founded the influential youth magazine ''

O Tico-Tico ''O Tico-Tico'' was a weekly Brazilian children's magazine, published between 1905 and 1977. It was the first magazine to publish comics in Brazil. It also featured stories and educational activities. Among its famous readers were Erico Verissimo, ...

'' for publisher ''

O Malho ''O Malho'' (Portuguese: ''The Mallet'') was a Brazilian weekly satirical magazine published from 1902 to 1954. It was based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first commercially successful Brazilian satirical magazine during the Republican re ...

'' in 1905. During his final years he worked for the magazine ''O Malho'', until his death in 1910.

Legacy

Named in honour of Agostini, the

Prêmio Angelo Agostini Prêmio Angelo Agostini (Angelo Agostini Award), sometimes also called Troféu Angelo Agostini (Angelo Agostini Trophy), is the most traditional comics award in Brazil. It was created in 1985 by the Associação dos Quadrinhistas e Caricaturistas ...

is a Brazilian comics prize awarded by Associação dos Quadrinhistas e Caricaturistas do Estado de São Paulo since 1985.

Bibliography

* ''As Aventuras de Nhô Quim'' (1869) * ''As Aventuras do Zé Caipora'' (1883) * ''História de Pai João'' (1906) * ''A Arte de Formar Brasileiros'' (1906)

Sources

External links

Angelo Agostini biography
on Lambiek Comiclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agostini, Angelo 1843 births 1910 deaths People from Vercelli Italian emigrants to Brazil Brazilian illustrators Brazilian journalists Male journalists Prêmio Angelo Agostini winners