Lucas Arruda, the Brazilian painter who comes to dialogue with the Impressionists at the Musée d'Orsay

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In the Impressionist gallery of the Musée d'Orsay, amidst the works of Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro, a small format hangs with watchmaker's precision before its creator's eyes. For more than fifteen years, the Brazilian Lucas Arruda, 41, has been producing canvases measuring around thirty centimeters on each side that collectors snap up. This one, handled with care, is the only one with a title: "Assum preto." It depicts a dense, dark, virgin forest. The title refers to a species of blackbird from the east of the country whose rather banal song, according to local tradition, transforms into a beautiful melody if the animal's vision is obscured. " My father used to sing me this tune, covered by Luiz Gonzaga ," confides the artist, whose eyes shine like two black pearls at the mention of this traditional music.

Lucas Arruda shares a common point with the tropical passerine. His seascapes, his sunsets, his jungle edges are executed from memory, in his studio in São Paulo, almost blindly. "They are more mental landscapes than real places," he emphasizes. This nocturnal bird starts with a raw canvas, piles up layers of material, then gradually removes it with rags, dry brushes or spatulas, as if trying...

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