{"id":463201,"date":"2026-02-06T23:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T23:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/463201\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T23:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T23:02:20","slug":"a-major-survey-in-paris-chronicles-leonora-carringtons-esoteric-surrealism-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/463201\/","title":{"rendered":"A Major Survey in Paris Chronicles Leonora Carrington’s Esoteric Surrealism \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Multiple-headed deities, strange woodland feasts, plants with sprite-like faces, and worlds floating on animals\u2019 backs are just a few of the dreamlike occurrences in the work of Leonora Carrington<\/a> (1917-2011). The British-Mexican artist, born into an upper-class family in Lancashire, was fascinated by the notion of \u201cother.\u201d She immersed herself in fairytales and folk stories by the likes of Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll and rebelled against the strict expectations of high-society women in England.<\/p>\n

Carrington traveled extensively, soaking up inspiration from classical sculptures and Renaissance paintings in Florence, where she studied art, then attending the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London when she was 19. It wasn\u2019t long before she was off to Paris, where the movement had taken wing. And fittingly, this month, a large-scale survey of Carrington\u2019s work opens at the Mus\u00e9e du <\/a>Luxembourg<\/a> in Paris, showcasing numerous paintings and drawings created throughout her career.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cOink (They Shall Behold Thine Eyes)\u201d (1959), oil on canvas, 40 x 90.9 centimeters. Peggy Guggenheim Collection, \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris. \u00a9 Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice<\/p>\n

Surrealism is virtually inextricable from Paris in the first half of the 20th century, when luminaries like Joan Mir\u00f3, Salvador Dal\u00ed<\/a>, and Andr\u00e9 Breton\u2014the movement\u2019s founder\u2014convened and shared ideas. The excitement attracted younger artists from other parts of the world, such as Carrington and Spanish painter Remedios Varo<\/a>. There, Carrington met German artist Max Ernst, with whom she struck up a romantic partnership for a period of about three years\u2014a time during which each of their practices was influenced by the other.<\/p>\n

The younger women artists who associated with the Surrealism movement were sometimes deprecatingly referred to as femme enfants, or \u201cwomen children,\u201d as their role was seen as serving as muses for the male artists. Carrington once said, \u201cI didn\u2019t have time to be anyone\u2019s muse\u2026I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

And after immigrating to Mexico to escape the turmoil of World War II, Carrington and Varo became good friends<\/a>, sharing an interest in cooking, alchemy, and cosmic forces. While they painted separately, their works share this interest in the esoteric and arcane. Carrington was particularly interested in ideas around transformation, with domestic spaces such as the kitchen or bedroom serving as settings filled with magic, awe, and gratification.<\/p>\n

Leonora Carrington opens on February 18 and continues through July 19. Find more on the museum\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cDando de comer a una mesa [Nourrir une table]\u201d (1959), oil on canvas, 57 x 70 centimeters. Private collection, \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cLe Bon Roi Dagobert (Elk Horn)\u201d (1948), oil on canvas, 90 x 60 centimeters. Private collection, \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris. \u00a9 Collecti\u00f3n D.T.O.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cLas tentaciones de San Antonio\u201d (1945), oil on canvas, 121 x 91 centimeters. Private collection<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cThe Lovers\u201d (1987), oil on canvas, 76 x 103 centimeters. Femmes Artistes du Mus\u00e9e de Mougins (FAMM), \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris. \u00a9 Courtesy Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cDouble Portrait (Self-Portrait with Max Ernst)\u201d (1938), oil on canvas, 65.4 x 81.9 centimeters. Private collection, \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris. \u00a9 Courtesy Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cWindow in Saint-Martin-d\u2019Ard\u00e8che\u201d (1938), painting on glass, 39.3 x 28.3 x 2.7 centimeters. Private collection, \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris. \u00a9 Michel Tissot dit Daubery<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cArtes 110\u201d (1944), oil on canvas, 40.6 x 60.9 centimeters. Private collection. \u00a9 2026 Estate of Leonora Carrington \/ ADAGP, Paris. \u00a9 NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale<\/p>\n

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