Spaces for the art: artistic content and visual repertoires in Selecta magazine (1909-1912)

Abstract

The increasing circulation of reproductions of works of art in Chile in the early twentieth century found an important vehicle of dissemination in cultural magazines that provided evidence of the impact of a number of technological transformations in the production of these images, and notably expanded the artistic repertoires in the realm of print culture. This article analyzes the ways in which Selecta magazine (1909-1912) chose and organized its artistic content, paying particular attention to the multiplicity of uses and spaces intended for reproductions of works of art, the criteria for the selection of those images, and strategies through which the magazine sought to shape or respond to its readers’ interest. Although the magazine broadened the reader’s knowledge of old masters’ artworks, a closer examination of the articles’ content and images published during the period the magazine was published, reveals that Selecta actually opened up a significant space for current artistic affairs, allowing its readers to access information on a variety of artistic matters, and contemporary artworks and artists until then little known in the local context.