In this communication, addressing the theme of melancholy, we articulate Sigmund Freud's reflections, made in 1917, with the work of two contemporary artists who have in common the post-mortem representation of their parents. With them, we reflect that dealing with objects of mourning seems to contribute to healing the wounds caused by this acute suffering. Flávio de Carvalho (1899–1973), a Brazilian artist, addressed the theme of death in different ways throughout his career. We highlight his Tragic Series, in which he depicts his mother's death with intimate precision. The British painter Maggi Hambling (1945) also addresses the theme of death, which has a special place in the overall economy of her work. We selected drawings from her Sketchbook, in which she depicts her father dying and after his death. Using a qualitative documentary and comparative methodological approach, we worked on the iconography and metapsychology of mourning present in the works under analysis. The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of these images which, by addressing the theme of death in an autobiographical way, bring to the fore the strangeness of dying and its impossibilities. Faced with the enigmas of death and the pain of losing loved ones, they reveal that art can be a strategy for communication and elaboration. From this analysis, the core and mission of contemporary art, as a visual language, becomes clearer, aiming to activate the dimension of experience and the implication of reception on the work. In this context, they help to express the mourning and melancholic traits resulting from loss, as well as the reparative and testimonial dimension of art.

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CHAM / NOVA FCSH