Lasar Segall

Born in 1889 in what is now Lithuania, Lasar Segall moved to Brazil in 1923 to escape Europe, which he described as “spent”. In 1927 he created Banana Grove, one of the most important works of Brazilian modernism. The fact that it was created by a European makes it all the more interesting. And it is a testament to Brazil as a country of immigrants.

Segall used angular forms to depict the neck and bearded head of an Afro-Brazilian man. His skin is a shade of purple. The man’s face is based on drawings Segall made of a former slave in 1925. Above all, however, the figure is a symbol of the African slave torn from his homeland and forced to work foreign soil. The shapes of the face are deliberately reminiscent of African masks and thus of the former slave’s origins.

Segall painted the man surrounded by lush banana leaves and banana plants in shades of green and blue. The geometric shapes are reduced and all the leaves are divided into differently coloured segments. The result is a varied structure that conveys very well the jungle-like thicket of the banana grove.

With this stylised imagery, Segall incorporated trends from European modernism, particularly cubism. He skilfully combined this imagery with Brazilian social issues, the history of slavery, colonialism and plantations. At the same time, he continued his personal exploration of themes of foreignness and otherness.

The work was acquired by the Pinacoteca do Estado in São Paulo in 1928 – making it the first modernist work to enter a public collection in Brazil.