Lasar Segall

Lasar Segall was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and moved to Berlin at the age of 15 and studied first at Berlin Konigliche Akademie der Kunste from 1906 to 1910 and then in Dresden to continue his studies at the Kunstakademie Dresden as a 'Meisterschuler' (master-student). In 1912 he moved to Sao Paolo, Brazil, where three of his siblings were already living. Before and after the first journey to Brazil he lived in Germany (mainly Berlin and Dresden), where he developed an Expressionist style. He was the first to exhibit Expressionist pictures in Brazil and had a great influence on younger artists there. His work often expresses compassion for the persecuted and disadvantaged, particularly sex workers and the Jews suffering under Nazism. In 1914 he joined the German expressionist movement and became one of its most prominent figures. He was part of the Dresden Secession Group in 1919 and his works were included in the Degenerate Art Exhibition organized by the Nazi government in Munich in 1938 in an effort to condemn European liberal art. In the fifties, he participated in every edition of the Sao Paulo Art Biennale and represented Brazil at the XXIX Venice Biennale. In 1967 the Lasar Segall Museum opened its doors at his old residence in Vila Mariana. The collection includes the artist's works, documents, and personal correspondence. His work can also be found in the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Museo de Arte Brasileira (Sao Paolo) and Museo Naciolale de Belas Arte (Rio de Janeiro) and many others.