Visions of the backward-looking architectural taste: Problematizing the "neoclassical style" of São Paulo from an international perspective

Abstract

In order to contemplate a broader research on the sociocultural conditions of the proliferation of the so-called "neoclassic" buildings in São Paulo's residential architecture, this article discusses various approaches of what can be defined as a backward-looking architectural taste. The resulting bibliographical review presents a literature mainly published in Europe and in the United States since the last quarter of the 20th century, when the reaction to the sober modern aesthetics and the return of the ornaments and of the historicist language became evident in the international architectural scene.