on Natalia Leon
Dates: July 15, 22, 29 and August 05, 2026
Wednesdays
Hour: 19h to 21h
Duration: 4 meetings
Audience: general interested parties
Investment: R$ 320,00 + fees
Online course
Live, via video conferencing platform
Recorded classes available for a limited time only
Includes certificate at the end
For Libras interpreter, request by email cursos@mam.org.br with 7 business days' notice.
Is it possible to analyze works of art while always maintaining the well-known distinction between author and work? In what way can the artist appear in the work? To what extent can works of visual art be read as autobiographical?
The debate surrounding contemporary literature has addressed the theme of autofiction, a work that does not adhere to the autobiographical pact but creates a fiction based on episodes from the writer's life. The idea of this course is to shift this debate to unwritten texts and consider the presence of the artist (their emotions, biographical episodes, the image of their face) in works of art.
How can we think about self-portraits in painting, photography, performances, installations, and other works that contain biographical elements of the artists? Is it possible to interpret this biographical dimension in only one way, or does each historical period invite us to consider the meaning of the self expressed in the works differently?
Starting from some theoretical contributions, such as the concept of mimesis, Freud's sublimation and the criticism made of it, the critique of art as an expression of the artist's interiority, among others, we will discuss the presence of biographical elements of the artist in their works, analyzing works such as those of Rembrandt, William Kentridge, Francesca Woodman, Ismael Nery, Vivian Maier, Geraldo de Barros, Lenora de Barros, etc.
Agenda
Lesson 1 – Authorship, autobiography and self-portrait: Rousseau, Raphael and Rembrandt
- Differences and similarities between self-portraits and autobiographies.
- The birth of the notion of author and self-portraits.
- Examples of early autobiographies (such as Rousseau's) and self-portraits by painters like Raphael, Rembrandt, Velázquez, etc.
Lesson 2 – From self-portrait to selfie: photography and self-photography in art
- The first portraits
- The first self-portraits
- Photographic self-portraiture in art
- The age of the selfie
- Examples of works by Francesca Woodman, Vivian Maier, Pablo Picasso, Ismael Nery, Geraldo de Barros, Cindy Sherman, Juno Calypso, Amalia Ulman, etc.
Lesson 3 – The Body on Stage: Performances
- Who is the "I" in the performance?
- The relationship between performance and life.
- Works by Joseph Beuys, Hélio Oiticica, Cildo Meireles, Marina Abramović, Eleonora Fabião, William Kentridge, etc.
Lesson 4 – Women talk about themselves
- The absence of female portraits in the history of self-portraits.
- Nudity has historically been linked to the female body.
- Women who write and paint themselves
- Works by Sofonisba Anguissola, Frida Kahlo, Lenora de Barros, Samara Paiva, Aline Motta, Aleta Valente, etc.
Natália Leon
MAM friend There's a 20% discount. Be part!
Students, teachers and retirees have a 10% discount
Doubts:
cursos@mam.org.br
WhatsApp: 11 99774 3987
By participating in this activity/event, you authorize, free of charge and permanently, the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art to use your image, voice, biographical data, and distinctive features, captured in video, audio, photography, and prints, for the purposes of recording, disseminating, and promoting the institution's activities, in any means, vehicles, supports, media, methods, and technologies, whether tangible or intangible. If you do not wish your image to be disclosed, please inform the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo by email. cursos@mam.org.br.
credits
Image: Barros, In the Form of Family, 1995/2007. MAM São Paulo Collection. Photo: Romulo Fialdini.