Leonora Carrington - The Magical World of the Maya | pt. 1

About this episode

The episode revisits Leonora Carrington's mural 'The Magical World of the Maya' and explores her artistic journey and influences.

WEEE’’’RREEE BAAACCCKKKK!!!! VIDEO VERSION HERE: https://youtu.be/4Rx_f27XNlg Today we are revisiting our fav Hyena Queen LEONORA CARRINGTON: this time covering her epic mural “The Magical World of the Maya” or “El mundo mágico de los mayas” from casein, tempera on panel 1963-64. This 14ft x 7ft beaut of a work features a slice of Mayan life including the sky, earth and underworld all filled with mysterious scenes, cosmological events, and mythical creatures - brought to us through Leonora’s lens using those tiny brushmarks and washy layers. We first covered her work, the small 1945 painting “The House Opposite” in our Las Tres Witches episodes featuring her witchy besties Surrealist artists Remedios Varo and Kati Horna and we left off as she settled into her new home in Mexico City. Through Kati Horna, LC would meet and fall in love with and marries also newly immigrated Hungarian photographer and concentration camp survivor, Emerico “Chiki” Weisz. She captures this new era in her 1944 painting “Chiki Your Country”, an autobiographical, fantastical and wonderfully weird landscape - a work that foreshadows her approach to the Mayan mural. Fast forward 20 yearish later: it’s 1963…

People in this episode

Hosts: Stephanie Dueñas, Russell Shoemaker

Topics covered

• Leonora Carrington
• Mayan art
• Surrealism
• art history
• mural painting
• Breakaway Generation

Keywords

• Leonora Carrington
• Maya
• Surrealism
• art history
• mural
• National Museum of Anthropology
• Breakaway Generation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Museum of Anthropology

Books & works: The Magical World of the Maya, The House Opposite, Chiki Your Country