This article by Carlos Duarte analyzes the graphic work of caricaturist Nestor Silva. It explains the originality of his drawings and his interest in the details of everyday life, pointing out his sharp and pronounced lines, which are characterized by keen observation, and a colorful tenor that Silva communicates through his watercolors. Duarte reveals Silva’s ties to modern art, emphasizing his anti-academic sentiments through the following commentary: “one may expect everything from Nestor except: the possibility of his offering classes as part of a drafting program at the Escola de Belas Artes (…).”

Caricature and graphic illustration precede and accompany the forces of modernization. They occupied a significant place at the Semana de Arte Moderna de 1922 (São Paulo), while at the same time they introduced their more lively perception of that moment within the pages of “modernist” publications. At the beginning of the century, the caricaturists of Pernambuco state presented works with modernist features, which lent flair to carnival and other popular events. Among various caricaturists from Recife the following artists stood out: Emílio Cardoso Ayres, J. Ranulpho, Nestor Silva and the poet Manoel Bandeira.

The magazine Moderna, published under the direction of Altamiro Cunha and Mauro Mota in Pernambuco (Recife) between August 1932 and most probably July 1936, expressed the duty to “not adopt political or religious creeds,” identifying itself more as a “literary and worldly magazine.” It covered art, literature, theater, and film from a European perspective that held great interest to its female readers. Despite its overseas orientation, Moderna magazine offered systematic analysis of the socio-economic reality of the Northeastern region of the country (with an emphasis on Pernambuco and Paraíba states). It also published a series of reflections on caricature.