The Surrealist Woman: the Art of Remedios Varo

Surrealism—a literary and artistic movement that has often been criticized for being misogynistic—stemmed from the idea of representing the unconscious mind, unburdened by societal norms. Several female surrealist artists and writers did emerge during the movement, including Remedios Varo, a Catalan surrealist painter. Throughout the early stages of her career, Varo was barely recognized by her male surrealist counterparts. Varo’s gender and background influenced her interpretation of femininity. When comparing Varo’s paintings with those of another famous Catalan surrealist, Salvador Dalí, the difference in the representation of women is striking. Unlike Varo, Dalí conformed to the typical depiction of the surrealist women as an object of desire or horror. Dalí’s representation of women is heavily influenced by their roles in society and treatment at the time. On the other hand, Varo broke the mold of the standard surrealist woman and depicted independent women in search of individual identities. Unlike Dalí, Varo ignored the social boundaries that had been set forth and attempted to freely express her unconscious mind, creating empowering surreal images of women