Leonora Carrginton

Information

Is a British-Mexican artist; born in 1917, died in 2011.

Both a painter and novelist, who redefined female symbolism and imagery in surrealism.

Was a one-time romantic companion and muse of Max Ernst, a surrealist artist. Ran away with him to Paris when she was 20, he was 46, to which her dad then disowned her.


Raised in a roman catholic household, which was wealthy, both of which she rebelled against (overall, a harsh relationship with her family).

This is where she then was introduced to surrealism art through André Breton, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Yves Tanguy, Léonor Fini, and others. The next two years, she spent creating her first primary pieces.

When she died at age 94, the public believed she was one of the last of the true surrealist artists.

Artwork

Worked with oil paintings, bronze and cast iron sculpture, mixed-media sculpture that incorporated wood, glass and iron objects.

Was a surrealist artist - who included things such as sorcery, alchemy, mythology, occults etc. mainly in a dream-world combination of these. Often she focused mainly on the animal world and Celtic myths - which she was introduced to at a young age.

Mainly worked with oil paintings - or at least the most famous artworks were oil paintings.

References

(2019) Artsy.net. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/leonora-carrington-and-then-we-saw-the-daughter-of-the-minotaur (Accessed: 20 November 2019).

And Then We Saw The Daughter Of The Minotaur (2011) large

  • oil on canvas painting
  • darker colour scheme, more dull browns and greens and mixtures of those - no bright, overwhelming colours etc.
  • clouds within the building, a feminine minotaur sitting with people, a ghost dancing in the back, a green sort of mythological creature is there as well.
  • very surreal, dream-like, story-like magic impression on me personally.

Leonora Carrington - 58 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy (2019). Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artist/leonora-carrington (Accessed: 20 November 2019).

Quería ser pájaro (1960) large (1)

  • oil on canvas
  • dark colours, much like in And Then We Saw The Daughter Of The Minotaur (2011), seems to be night-time. The night-time background gives more of a dreamlike effect.
  • animals in the background, which Leonora Carrington does often in her oil paintings.
  • surrealistic because the person has in-proportional body lengths, and (in my impression) you have no idea what's going on.

Leonora Carrington | Quería ser pájaro (1960) | Available for Sale | Artsy (2019). Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/leonora-carrington-queria-ser-pajaro (Accessed: 20 November 2019).