|
Remedios Varo We are based in South London near Croydon and if preferred this item can be picked up by appointment. Just e-mail here. Reproduction giclee on canvas The total overall size is an impressively large 20 x 24 inches with the image size 16 x 20 inches on the finest grade artist canvas available. There is a white border around the image, so it can either be board/dry mounted or stretched with standard OR gallery canvas bars. Your canvas will be rolled in tissue paper and sent in a strong cardboard tube with both top and bottom tightly secured. Unstretched.
Remedios Varo’s The Calling is one of the most psychologically charged and symbolically rich paintings of her mature career, a work in which spiritual awakening, feminine power and mystical transformation converge within a hauntingly theatrical vision. Created during the height of Varo’s creative powers, the painting exemplifies her extraordinary ability to combine narrative precision with profound philosophical ambiguity. At the centre of the composition stands a luminous female figure moving through a darkened architectural space, carrying an almost supernatural intensity. Around her, shadowy forms and confined figures appear trapped within rigid structures, while she advances with purpose and illumination. The contrast suggests liberation from spiritual confinement — a recurring theme throughout Varo’s work. The title itself is deeply evocative. A “calling” implies vocation, revelation and inner necessity. In Varo’s symbolic universe, such a calling is never purely external; it is a summons toward deeper consciousness and transformation. Her protagonists are often seekers guided by mysterious forces, engaged in journeys that blur the boundaries between psychology, mysticism and alchemical initiation. Varo’s enclosed interiors play an essential role in the atmosphere of the painting. Towers, corridors and ritual chambers recur throughout her art as spaces of both imprisonment and awakening. In The Calling, architecture becomes psychological — a representation of systems that restrict perception, conformity and spiritual freedom. The work also reflects Varo’s enduring fascination with esoteric traditions, medieval imagery and Surrealist dream logic. Every object and gesture appears charged with symbolic meaning, yet the painting resists any single interpretation. Like a dream or mystical vision, it invites intuition rather than certainty, drawing the viewer into an atmosphere of mystery and revelation. Technically, the painting demonstrates the remarkable precision that distinguishes Varo’s mature style. Her background in technical drawing is evident in the intricate architectural details and carefully controlled composition. Yet this precision never diminishes the work’s emotional intensity; instead, it heightens the uncanny sense that the impossible world before us operates according to hidden laws. Born in Spain in 1908 and later exiled to Mexico after the upheavals of war in Europe, Varo developed her singular artistic language through a fusion of Surrealism, science, mysticism, literature and personal mythology. In Mexico City she created the body of work that would secure her reputation as one of the most original visionary artists of the twentieth century. The Calling remains one of Varo’s most compelling explorations of spiritual transformation and feminine agency. The painting feels less like a static image than a moment within an unfolding metaphysical drama — a vision in which illumination breaks through darkness and inner awakening becomes an irresistible force. No Longer Available More: This and other Remedios Varo canvas prints are available @ ebay.com (direct link to Remedios Varo canvas prints) - not sure if those on offer are official or unofficial prints so please check with seller Ultimate Reading |
