Lasar Segall's 1938 Painting 'Máscaras' Analyzed as Response to Picasso's 'Guernica'

Lasar Segall's 1938 oil and sand painting 'Máscaras' (80x90cm) is examined as a critical response to Pablo Picasso's 1937 'Guernica'. The analysis explores Segall's use of allegory versus Picasso's photographic 'decisive moment' approach. Segall, who returned from Europe in 1938, expressed disapproval of 'Guernica' in an interview with Diário de São Paulo, criticizing its ideological intentions and obscurity. Despite creating works with strong denunciatory appeal like 'Emigrantes III' (1936) and 'Pogrom' (1937), Segall advocated for 'pure art' independent of external influences. The article argues 'Máscaras' corrects Picasso's strategies while maintaining pictorial language solemnity. Segall's broader practice incorporated photographic images as memory aids, particularly evident in 'Navio de Emigrantes' (1939-1940), which used photographic supports for its composition. Other works like 'Fim e começo' (1929) and 'Menino com cavalo de pau' (1928) also translated photographic sources into painting. The text critiques scholarly neglect of modernist painters' photographic tool usage beyond travel documentation.