Habitat Magazine and the Invention of a Gaze on Brazilian Culture

Abstract

This research proposes an alternative analysis of “Revista Habitat” in the period it was directed by Lina Bo Bardi, from October 1950 to April 1954, with the aim of understanding the architect’s process of engaging with Brazilian culture. In this context, the magazine is analyzed as a travel record, both in its literal sense – evidenced by Lina’s excursions into the country in search of lesser-known cultural expressions – and in its symbolic dimension, as it contributes to constructing an imaginary of the cultural "other." The analysis of the magazine’s articles, accompanied by a critical reading of the images that illustrate them, reveals unusual word choices, argumentative structures, and the values it highlights, allowing for formal and symbolic comparisons with the lithographs produced by 19th-century traveling painters. This approach broadens the understanding of “Habitat”, connecting it to contemporary debates on race, gender, and coloniality while also revisiting visual and narrative traditions that have shaped cultural imaginaries in Brazil.