Abstract
This paper discusses the relationship between Art and Psychiatry in Brazil, highlighting the
work of Psychiatrist Nise da Silveira at the Pedro II Psychiatric Center in Rio de Janeiro. In
the 1940s, the relationship between medicine and art had credibility in the academia, but
in practice, hospitals still operated electric shocks, lobotomies and sedatives in order to
neutralize the patient's reaction. The work environment was rude and hostile.
When taking over the Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Section of the hospital, Dr.
Nise organized painting and sculpture studios to put into practice the occupational and
therapeutic process, which could lead to the psychic restoration or even the cure of
patients. Nise also organized soirees with theater, poetry, music and parties, and all the
employees in the department participated, in order to make the environment more
affectionate and humanized. All this methodological innovation in dealing with patients
brought the psychiatrist adversaries in the workplace: doctors and therapists at the hospital
valued traditional aggressive techniques, and saw Nise's work as nothing more than
feminine amateurism.