As “mulatas" de Di Cavalcanti – um estudo em Psicologia Social

Abstract

The terminology "mulata" has been used indiscriminately by our society since the times of Brazil colony, in the most diverse conceptions. This term comes up as a way to identify the daughters borned from the relation between the Portuguese white men and the black slave women and was initially used pejoratively in allusion to the term "mule", which designates the hybrid animals borned from the crossing between a donkey and a mare . The term has been modified throughout the history, being shaped and formed in literary novels, popular music, fine arts, advertising campaigns and soap operas. In an attempt to comprehend the specific way in which the fine arts appropriated the “mulata” character, it has been decided to choose the masterpieces of Di Cavalcanti, renowned in the world of the arts as the "painter of mulatas". In front of choosing the object of study, it has been proposed to identify, describe and analyze elements of meanings contained in the works expressed by the artist which portray mulatas, seeking to consider them according to the race, gender and classes issues. The intersectionality has been chosen as the main theoretical path to be followed in an attempt to better understand the social phenomenon that permeates the "mulata" character, due to its unique characteristics. Seven images have been selected out of 52 collected. This set of images, which was produced in the 1960s, was submitted to the Semiotic Image Analysis. The results indicate that the "mulatas" portrayed in Di Cavalcanti's works are similar to those found in other sources, such as novels, advertisements and lyrics of popular songs. The findings point out the vulnerability of the black/mestizo women for having their life marked by the overlaps of three axes of subordination: race, gender and class.