Emygdio de Barros
(1895 – 1986)
Emygdio was a shy and sad child, who manifested an uncommon manual ability since his childhood, creating toys out of old boxes and wooden pieces, to the surprise of everyone.
At school, he was always the first of his class. He did the lathe mechanics course and joined the navy yard. He stood out for the quality of his work and was chosen to take part in a course for his further development in France, where he stayed for two years.
He started coming to the museum in February 1947. Although he had never painted before, his work reached a high artistic level from the start, revealing exceptional talent.
His works disproved the prevailing prejudices in psychiatry and he was quickly recognized by the art world. Art critic Mario Pedrosa and artists Almir Mavignier and Abraham Palatnik, among others, visited him frequently. Emygdio died aged 92, leaving behind a legacy of about 3.300 works to the collection of the Museum of Images from the Unconscious.
