Poty of Us All

Poty Lazzarotto is a poet of the line. In theme, form, color, and black and white. He described what he saw, what happened. In factories, in the streets, in brothels. He also described torture, demons, and erotic scenes. He portrayed the relationship between man and his craft. He gave strength to the line, brought lightness to everyday life.

Poty lived in São Paulo in 1950, when he founded the Free School of Fine Arts. He created panels for the Latin America Memorial and was the illustrator for the book “Novelas Paulistanas” (São Paulo Stories), by Antonio de Alcântara Machado.

He began the murals with wood. As an illustrator, he was a historian. He told the story of his childhood, of a boy from the outskirts, of a happy boy. Simple life. He described his grandparents, parents, and brother. Poty's drawing was always something unprecedented. There was no sameness; there was no pretense of being modern or avant-garde. Poty was himself, always.

The synthesis of the landscape transcends the drawing. When he draws a pine tree, he cuts it out as if imprinting another meaning on the object. The symbolism becomes real, Poty goes beyond. The subject and the object meet in Poty's striking line, revealing the quality of his work. As an engraver and contemporary of Goeldi, he described everyday life more than the landscape: he made poetry of the day-to-day.

Oscar Niemeyer Museum Team