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O CRUZEIRO
Peter Scheier`s work for the magazine O Cruzeiro between 1945 and 1951 was decisive for his professional development. During his time at the magazine, he worked with the French photojournalist Jean Manzon, who had been responsible for the 1943 change in editorial policy, when it was decided to emphasize photojournalism. Along with his excellent technical training, when Manzon emigrated to Rio de Janeiro in 1940 he brought with him his experience as a photojournalist with the French magazines Paris-Soir, Match and Vu. Above all, Match was famous for its sensationalist approach, publishing unusual and dramatic scenes which were almost always mounted by the photographers themselves, frequently overstepping the limits between fiction and news.
From 1943, O Cruzeiro modeled itself on international illustrated magazines, emphasizing photojournalism and following the example of Match, Vu and the American magazine Life. Working in this environment, Scheier assimilated a photographic language founded on narrative content, as well as a repertoire of modern formal solutions, such as close-ups, diagonals, and the use of low-level and high-level angles. Following the example of Manzon, Scheier posed the scenes and used flash for dramatic effect, frequently creating a theatrical visual rhetoric.
After the end of the war, O Cruzeiro became the widest read magazine in Brazil, achieving a weekly circulation of 630,000 copies. Its success coincided with the appearance of mass culture in Brazil, the industrialization of journalism and its growing financial dependence on advertising. The magazine broke new ground in Brazil, with its coverage of those realities of Brazilian life which were little known until then. However, although its readership included all social classes, O Cruzeiro took the lifestyle of the white urban middle class as its ‘standard of normality’, and everything that differed from this standard was treated as a ‘deviation’. This resulted in sensationalist stories that treated the indigenous peoples, those of African descent, the disabled, and cultural and religious syncretism in a derogatory and prejudicial way.
1
“Ambush at Butantan”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 20, 3/9/1946, pp. 56-57. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Nelson Motta.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
2
Little People`s Circus Group, Santo André, São Paulo, 1945
Photo for the article “A Day in the Woods of the Little People” O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 7, 12.08.1945
Photograph on paper, gelatin and silver
Printed in 2019
Instituto Moreira Salles Collection
3
“A Day in the Woods of the Little People”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 7, 12/8/1945, pp. 62-63. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Rocha Pitta.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
4
“Bloated Belly”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXIV, no. 2, 10/27/1951, pp. 108-109. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
Instituto Moreira Salles Collection
5
Children in São Francisco Children`s Home, São Paulo, 1947
Photo for the article “São Francisco Children`s Home”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 27, 4/26/1947
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
6
“São Francisco Children`s Home”. O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 27, 4/26/1947, pp. 54-55. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Freitas Nobre.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
7
“Crime Doesn`t Pay”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 9, 12/22/1945, pp. 8-9. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Rocha Pitta.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
8
Jewish family in São Paulo, 1946
Photo for the article “Jews without Money”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 12, 1/12/1946
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
9
“Jews without Money”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 12, 1/12/1946, pp. 62-63. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Rocha Pitta.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
10
“The Hair Suffers as Well”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVII, no. 32, 06/02/1945, pp. 56-57. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Alceu Pereira.
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11
“The Last Queue”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 51, 10/12/1946, pp. 60-61. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Nelson Motta.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
12
“Beyond the Borders of Life”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 15, 2/2/1946, pp. 8-9. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Rocha Pitta.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
13
“The Eyes of the Dead for the Living”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 35, 5.17.1950, pp. 58-59. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
14
“Working against Death”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXI, no. 30, 05.14.1947, pp. 52-53. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
15
“Bom Jesus de Pirapora”. O Cruzeiro, Year XX, no. 7, 12.06.1947, pp. 70-71. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
16
“The Television is Working!”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 43, 8.12.1950, pp. 24-25. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
17
“The Fists that Thrilled the World”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 31, 5.20.1950, pp. 94-95. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
18
“When Faith Makes Flesh”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVII, no. 35, 6/23/1945, pp. 10-11. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Nelson Motta.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
19
“We Blame the Russians!”. O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 36, 6/28/1947, pp. 58-59. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
20
“The `Flying Fish` Gasp”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 24, 4/1/1950, pp. 92-93. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
21
“The Other Side of the World”. O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 36, 6/28/1947, pp. 8-9. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
22
“Christmas on Broadway”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXI, no. 10, 12/25/1948, pp. 76-77. Photos and text by Peter Scheier and Kikoler.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
23
“Love and Death in the City of Wax”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVII, no. 28, 05/05/1945, pp. 56-57. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Freitas Nobre.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
24
“Between the Bull and the Bear”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 20, 3/3/1951, pp. 50-51. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Geraldo Banas.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
25/26
District of Santo Amaro, São Paulo, 1948
Photo for the article “Santo Amaro, Haven for São Paulo Dwellers”, O Cruzeiro, Year XX, no. 14, 1/24/1948
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
27
“Santo Amaro, Haven for São Paulo Dwellers”. O Cruzeiro, Year XX, no. 14, 1/24/1948, pp. 52-53. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
28
The District of Brás, São Paulo, 1947
Photo for the article “Braz”, O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 27, 04.26.1947
DIGITAL INKJET PRINT ON COTTON PAPER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
29
Slum dwellers in Brás, São Paulo, 1947
Photo for the article “Braz”, O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 27, 04.26.1947
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
30
“Braz”. O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 27, 4/26/1947, pp. 8-9. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Freitas Nobre.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
31
Slum in Brás, São Paulo, 1947
Photo for the article “Braz”, O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 27, 04.26.1947
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
32
Children in Brás, São Paulo, 1947
Photo for the article “Braz”, O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 27, 04.26.1947
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
33
“The Clown`s Apprentice”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 26, 4.15.1950, pp. 94-95. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
34
The Port of Santos, 1946
Photo for the article “Danger Island”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 51, 10/12/1946
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
35
The Armour Abattoir, São Paulo, 1946
Photo for the article “The Dance of the Dead Cow”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 37, 7/6/1946
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
36
“The Dance of the Dead Cow”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 37, 7/6/1946, pp. 8-9. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Nelson Motta.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
37/38
The Port of Santos, 1946
Photo for the article “Danger Island”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 51, 10/12/1946
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
39
“Danger Island”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 51, 10/12/1946, pp. 8-9. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Nelson Motta.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
40/41
Piolin the Clown`s Circus, São Paulo, 1945
Photo for the article “Circus – The People`s Theater”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVII, no. 35, 06/23/1945
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
42
“Circus – The People`s Theater”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVII, no. 35, 6/23/1945, pp. 10-11. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Freitas Nobre.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
43
Interval during the show, Piolin the Clown`s Circus, São Paulo, 1945
Photo for the article “Circus – The People`s Theater”, O Cruzeiro, Year XVII, no. 35, 06/23/1945, p.10
Photograph on paper, gelatin and silver
Printed in 2019
Instituto Moreira Salles Collection
44
Filming Caiçara (1950), Ilhabela, SP, 1950
Photo for the article “The Stubborn Cavalcanti”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 6, 11.25 1950
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
45
“The Stubborn Cavalcanti”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 6, 11/25/1950, pp. 116-117. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by David Nasser.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
46/47
Wrestlers, São Paulo, 1950
Photo for the article “The Beauties Become Beasts”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 50, 9.30.1950
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
48
“The Beauties Become Beasts”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 50, 9.30.1947, pp. 90-91. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
49
Wrestlers in the center of São Paulo, 1950
Photo for the article “The Beauties Become Beasts”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 50, 9.30.1950
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
50
Wrestlers, São Paulo, 1950
Photo for the article “The Beauties Become Beasts”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 50, 9.30.1950
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
51
“The Two Lives of `Mountain Man`”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 25, 4/12/1947, pp. 60-61. Photos and text by Peter Scheier
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
Scheier traveled a number of times to the United States and established relationships with two photojournalism agencies – Monkmeyer Press Photo Service and Pix Incorporated. During his career, he published photographs in Time, Life and the Saturday Evening Post, as well as other international magazines.
Items in his private library, such as the book The Decisive Moment. Photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1952), the catalog for the exhibition The Family of Man, shown at MoMA in New York in 1955, and the compendium The Best of Life (1974), show that his references extended beyond the sensationalist photojournalism that prevailed in O Cruzeiro in the 1940s. Above all, from the 1950s, the spontaneity captured by Cartier-Bresson and the agency Magnum’s photoshoot approach, which combined social exposés with aesthetic values, became models for photographers in Brazil, as did Life, with its dynamic page layouts echoing movie making, established a visual narrative standard that was adopted by illustrated magazines throughout the world.
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Nursery installed in a train wagon on the Sorocabana railroad, on the southern coast of São Paulo, 1950
Photo for the article “The Redemption of the Caiçara”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 32, 5.27.1950
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
54
“The Redemption of the Caiçara” (Coast Dweller). O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 32, 05.27.1947, pp. 28-29. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
55/56
Paracatu, Minas Gerais, 1949
Photo for the article “City of Gold”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 4, 11.12.1949
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
57
“City of Gold”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 4, 11.12.1949, pp. 48-49. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
58
“At the Camp on the River of the Dead”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 48, 09/21/ 1946, pp. 56-57. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Vergniaud Gonçalves.
Lucas Lenci Collection
59
Paracatu, Minas Gerais, 1949
Photo for the article “City of Gold”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 4, 11.12.1949
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
60
“Devine Celebration”. O Cruzeiro, Year XX, no. 25, 4/10/1948, pp. 60-61. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
Instituto Moreira Salles Collection
61/62
Frevo Dancer, Recife, 1950
Photo for the article “Fantastic Frevo“, O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 22, 3.18.1950
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
63
“Fantastic Frevo”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 22, 3.181949, pp. 54-55. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
64
“Carnival in São Paulo”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXI, no. 19, 3/26/1949, pp. 46-47. Photos and text by Peter Scheier.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
65
Fashion Show at Copacabana Club in Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 1951
Photo for the article “Fashion Show in Boca Raton”, O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 16, 2/3/1951
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
66
“Fashion Show in Boca Raton”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 16, 2/3/1951, pp. 76-77. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Alceu Pena.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
67
“Look at the Maracatu – The Elephant`s Arrived”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 16, 2/3/1951, pp. 68-69. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
68
Carnival in Santos, SP, 1950
Photo for the article “The Marriage of Mistress Dorotéia”, O Cruzeiro, ano XXII, n. 19, 02.25.1950, pp. 100-101
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
69
“The Marriage of Mistress Dorotéia”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 19, 2.25.1949, pp. 100-101. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
70
“Sensation on Roller Skates”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXI, no. 46, 09.03.1947, pp. 96-97. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
71
Bandaged man, Pernambuco, 1950
Photo for the article “Sensational Frevo”, O Cruzeiro, Year xxii, no. 22, 03.18.1950
Photograph on paper, gelatin and silver. Printed in 2021.
Instituto Moreira Salles Collection
72
“Brazilian Boogie-woogie”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 48, 9.16.1947, pp. 36-39. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
73
“House of Memories”. O Cruzeiro, Year XVIII, no. 24, 4/5/1947, pp. 36-37.
Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Freitas Nobre.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
74
“Shoshaburo Conquers São Paulo”. O Cruzeiro, Year XX, no. 16, 2/7/1948, pp. 38-39. Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Samuel Wainer.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
75
“Twins Inflation”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 1, 10.22.1949, pp. 106-107. Photos byPeter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
Showcases
M1
“The Compulsive Candidate”. The Saturday Evening Post, 4.23.1966, pp. 36-37.
Text by Andrew J. Glass, photos by Peter Scheier.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
M2
David E. Scherman. The Best of Life. Nova York: Time-Life Books, 1973.
PETER SCHEIER’S PRIVATE LIBRARY
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
M3
Maitland A. Edey. Great Photographic Essays from Life. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1978
Peter Scheier`s Private Library
Lucas Lenci Collection
M4
“Scheier’s São Paulo. Introducing Peter Scheier, a South American Photographer”. US Camera, June 1946, pp. 26-27.
No author, photos by Peter Scheier.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
M5
Henri Cartier-Bresson. The Decisive Moment. New York/Paris: Simon and Schuster/Éditions Verve, 1952.
PETER SCHEIER’S PRIVATE LIBRARY
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
M6
Catalog for the Henri Cartier- Bresson. Museu de Arte Moderna de Nova-York, 1947.
PETER SCHEIER’S PRIVATE LIBRARY
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
M7
Edward Steichen. Cover of the catalog for the exhibition The Family of Man. Museum of Modern Art of New York, 1955.
PETER SCHEIER’S PRIVATE LIBRARY
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION