We have used FORS1 at the ESO Very Large Telescope to search for light echoes in imaging polarimetry from four historical supernovae in the face-on nearby spiral galaxy M83 (NGC 5236). No echoes were detected around our targets (SN 1923A, SN 1945B, SN 1950B, and SN 1957D). This implies that the interstellar medium in their environs is rather tenuous (a few particles per cm3), possibly as a result of previous supernova explosions that could have cleared the immediate vicinities of our targets. The merits and limitations of searching for light echoes in imaging polarimetry are discussed. From the photometry of the sources detected at the supernova locations, we estimate star cluster masses of 720, 400, and 300 M☉ for the cluster progenitors of SN 1957D, SN 1923A, and SN 1950B, respectively, and an upper limit of a few tens of solar masses for SN 1945B.