Winner of the Prize CAPES de Teses, area Artes/Música 2012 -, author Heloisa Espada weaves relations between formal solutions and historical and ideological constructions around the creation of the new Brazilian capital, unveiling the various layers of political and symbolic meanings of the photographs of Marcel Gautherot (France 1910-1996). From the photographer and architect's formation with the Purism of Le Corbusier and his personal relationships constituted in Brazil, the author shows how his work relates to the ideas of Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer around the monumental sense of Brasilia. On the other hand, focusing on the striking presence of shadows and empty spaces in Gautherot's photos, the book addresses the ambiguities of his images, sometimes in tune with the melancholic content of literary and critical narratives about the "capital of hope". In addition, it also analyzes how the forms of circulation of Gautherot's work focus on its meanings. The discussions presented here reveal, above all, the complexity of one of the most powerful and emblematic representations of modern Brazil.