Art and psychiatry: the discourse of the doctor Osório César (1925-1939)

• Grant number: 20/04028-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Science
• Principal Investigator: Ana Lúcia Lana Nemi
• Grantee: Tairini Ayhu Cruz Aparicio de Almeida
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the medical discourse of the psychiatrist Osório Thaumaturgo Cesar (1895-1979), between 1925 and 1939, a period in which he was a resident and employee of the "Asylum for the Alienated of Juquery". His production, in the area of mental health, has a theoretical basis in the works of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), in the studies of art of the time - both related to medicine and unrelated ones - and in the artistic production of the "alienated" of Juquery . In this period, the nursing home was run by the eugenicist Antônio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (1898-1998). It is intended how and when the approach linked to art, and to the then recent Freudian psychoanalysis, were inserted in the studies and treatments of the Asylum. This question is important, because Osório began his research precisely at a time when the direction of Pacheco e Silva followed a scientific precept.For that, as pointed out by the British historian Quentin Skinner, it will be necessary to examine his trajectory and works and the political and historical context in which Osório was inserted. As a basic source, two works by Osório will be used, namely "The artistic expression in the alienated - Contribution to the study of symbols in art" from 1929 and "Mysticism and madness" from 1939. In addition, some news from the newspapers Folha, in addition to the documents and works belongings of the doctor, existing both in the Osório Cesar Museum and in the Municipal Library of Franco da Rocha - SP. Finally, the current academic production will be examined which dialogues with the mental health dispute at the time. (AU)