Keywords
remedios varo; pilgrimage; migration; displacement; liminality; mexico
Abstract
At the time of her death, the artist Remedios Varo (1908–1963) left behind over 500 works of art, the majority of which were created in her adopted country of Mexico. Known for her meticulously crafted fantastical paintings, Varo underwent exile and displacement due to first the Spanish Civil War, and later World War II, which led her to relocate to Mexico, where she would create prolifically for the remainder of her life. This paper will examine the effect of those experiences on the artist and the work she produced, attesting to Varo’s ability to translate complex emotions regarding the human condition and uniquely communicate her personal history. Using biographical, formalist, and contextual analyses informed by the concepts of exile and of the Other in modern art, I aim to investigate the theme of pilgrimage—both physical and metaphysical—in the artwork of Varo’s mature artistic period. Surveys of medieval art and alchemical culture, contemporary research on pilgrimage, and scholarship on Otherness in the canon of European art will be cited as frames of context for approaching Varo’s artwork.
Although the theme of pilgrimage in Varo’s work is noted in existing scholarship, my research seeks to more thoroughly articulate the relationship between Varo’s work and her own experiences, synthesizing significant through lines in Varo’s life and work to create a comprehensive view of the artist. By focusing on the continuity of movement, I explore how Varo’s migrations informed her artistic development, and the narratives present in her paintings; first looking at images suggestive of liminality, conceptual journeys, and literal movement.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Colon-Mendoza, Ilenia
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
School of Visual Arts and Design
Thesis Discipline
Art History
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Condes, Julia, "Remedios Varo: Peregrinaciones" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 271.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/271
Included in
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Latin American History Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Modern Art and Architecture Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, Painting Commons, Political History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Rights Statement
