Masks: allegorical matrix in the work of Lasar Segall

Abstract

This research project aims to focus on an analysis of the work "Máscaras" (1938), by Lasar Segall, located currently in the collection of the Edson Queiroz Foundation in Fortaleza - CE. From this work, two fronts of quest will be developed: firstly, taking into account the central theme of the work - masks - we intend to investigate your relationship with the set of earlier works of Segall which refer to the legacy of European primitivism, as well as to Brazilian modernism and to return to order in France and Germany, particularly through their references to non-European artistic traditions signaled by the representation of masks. This is because the shift that this paint presents in relation to the other Segalls compositions is clear and at the same time intriguing, since after years interested in non-Western representation matrices, the artist portrayed for the first time, semblants similar to classical Western sculptures. Secondly, from the work "Masks", it is intended to conduct a detailed investigation on the reactions of Lasar Segall to the rise of the Nazi Party to power in Germany, taking into account the mediation exercised by the Brazilian context in which he lived. Even after establishing residence in Brazil from 1923, Segall responded with his work to a series of episodes that preceded the Second World War. In this sense, the work "Masks" can insert in a wider context of criticism to the first Nazi pogrom in 1938, known as the "night of broken glass" (Kristalnacht), as well as may be related to the degenerate art exhibition Entartete Kunst). It is intended, through an iconological study of the work, as well as a documentary investigation of the period, to determine to what extent and in what way Segall's painting responds to the broader historical and artistic context in which he lived and acted during the authoritarian regimes in Europe and Brazil. (AU)