Remedios Varo Research Paper

Remedios Varo was a Spanish artist. Her original name was María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga. She was born on December 16, 1908 in Anglés, Spain. She had two brothers, Rodrigo Varo, Jr. and Luis Varo. The Varos has traveled throughout Spain and North Africa a lot due to their father’s job. They finally settled in Madrid in 1917 where Remedios Varo attended catholic school. In 1930, she graduated from San Fernando Fine Arts Academy with a drawing teacher diploma. This academy was where she first introduced to surrealism which later became a big part of her life. In 1930, Remedios Varo married Gerardo Lizárraga. Lizárraga was a fellow art student. Varo and Lizárraga went to Paris in 1931 and later returned and to Barcelona.

She was truly an inspiration for art. Art critics had called her “one of the most individual and extraordinary painters of Mexican art”. A book was even written to honor her work. The book was titled Obras de Remedios Varo. Remedios Varo and her ‘surrealist’ artwork had a major influence on generations of artists. Remedios Varos style of painting was surrealism. She was influenced by many other surrealist artists. Surrealism was an artistic and literary movement. It was founded by Andre Breton in 1942. Surrealism was used to “liberate thought, language, and human experience from the oppressive boundaries of rationalism”. It was a revolutionary movement capable of unleashing the minds of masses from the rational order of society. Remedios Varo was an inspiring, influential surrealist artist. There were lots of other famous artists during this time. These artists had very popular pieces of art as well. Here are some artists and their famous pieces: American Gothic by Grant Wood (1930), Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper (1930), Hogs Killing a Snake by John Steuart Curry (1930), Roustabouts by Joe Jones (1934), The Fleet’s In! By Paul Cadmus (1934), Thanksgiving by Davis Lee (1935), Saturday Night by Archibald J. Motley (1935), Erosion No.2- Mother Earth Laid Bare by Alexandre Hogue (1936), Bombardment by Philip Guston (1937), and Gas by Edward Hopper