The nocturnal symphony of Aurora Cursino dos Santos

Abstract

This review is about the book Aurora: memórias e delírios de uma mulher da vida of Silvana Jeha and Joel Birman published in 2022 by Veneta. The book rescues the life and work of Aurora Cursino dos Santos, a prostitute between 1910 and 1930 in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, admitted to the Juquery Psychiatric Hospital, and participant in the painting workshop created by Osório César and Mário Yahn. Aurora's work is blurred by madness and memory, made of bright colors, with a mix of facts from life and imagination, texts and characters, covering personal and social themes, such as violence, crimes, imagined and real relationships, the condition of women, politicians and prostitution. The book points out possible paths for a reckoning with the Brazilian reality, advances contemporary debates about the malaise in our society, and challenges the paradigms of the history of art, women, madness and psychoanalysis, and insists that we don’t forget Aurora Cursino dos Santos.