The painting by the Spanish surrealist Remedios Varo set a record at the evening sale
The painting “Harmony (Estimated Self-Portrait)” by the Spanish surrealist Remedios Varo set a record at the evening sale of works by surrealists and modernists at the Sotheby’s auction house. The panel, for which it was supposed to gain 2-3 million dollars, went under the hammer for 6 million 186 thousand. The painting has become the most expensive work of the artist ever put up for auction.
“The painting by Remedios Varo has musical resonances, when inaudible melodies reveal magical powers and supernatural spells, releasing amazing charges of energy that burst into the mortal world ... “Harmony“ was conceived as a self-portrait, where the author takes on the role of the organizer of the universe using a stave to connect with creatures from other dimensions through magic crystals and formulas,” wrote American art critic Luis Martin Lozano.
The work of Remedios Varo has become one of the most significant contributions to the history of surrealism. The foundation and iconography of her paintings hss a unique layer of influences - from medieval history and Greek mythology to scientific research and alchemy, nature, music and pagan practices. Varo's reality is rich in fantasies; it presents its picturesque universe with scientific thoroughness. This is a methodical explanation of the mystical.