Character - Remedios Varo
Archival giclée
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Description
A surrealist portrait by Remedios Varo, featuring an enigmatic figure surrounded by mechanical motifs and warm, autumnal textures.
Remedios Varo, a Spanish-born artist who spent her most productive years in Mexico, created 'Character' in 1961. This work displays her signature approach to the human figure, which often appears as an ethereal, solitary entity engaged in mysterious or alchemical pursuits. The central figure is rendered with a pale, elongated face and large, wide eyes, suggesting a state of intense focus or otherworldly contemplation. They are depicted reading a small book, while their attire merges with the surrounding environment through a series of spiky, radiating textures that resemble both organic growth and cosmic energy.
The lower portion of the composition introduces mechanical elements, specifically a series of small wheels and pinwheel-like structures connected to the figure by thin threads. These motifs are common in Varo's oeuvre, representing the intersection of the physical world with metaphysical or scientific inquiry. The colour palette is dominated by warm, autumnal tones, ranging from deep burnt orange to ochre and earthy browns. These hues create a sense of warmth, yet the overall atmosphere remains enigmatic and detached from reality.
Varo's technique involves a meticulous application of paint, often using fine brushes to achieve the delicate, hair-like textures that define the figure's cloak and the surrounding space. The composition is balanced, with the figure positioned centrally, anchored by the mechanical wheels below. This piece reflects the artist's interest in the occult, science, and the subconscious mind. By blending precise, almost scientific observation with dreamlike imagery, Varo invites the viewer to consider the internal life of her subjects. The work remains a clear example of her ability to construct entire universes within a single frame, where the boundaries between the human, the mechanical, and the natural are blurred.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Character - Remedios Varo
Artist Biography
Remedios Varo
She graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1930, one of the few women in her class. In Barcelona she fell in with the Surrealists and, through them, with the poet Benjamin Peret, who became her partner. When Paris fell, she was jailed on suspicion of espionage. After her release she and Peret boarded one of the last ships allowed to leave France, arriving in Mexico in 1941.
In Mexico City she became inseparable from the English Surrealist Leonora Carrington. Together with the photographer Kati Horna, the three were called the Three Witches. They attended meetings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky followers, studied alchemy and Jungian dream theory, and put ink in tapioca pearls to serve as caviar at dinner parties for Octavio Paz.
She did not paint prolifically until the last thirteen years of her life, once she was financially stable and free of wartime displacement. The paintings from this period are meticulous: tiny figures in architectural spaces that obey their own physics, conducting experiments with starlight or weaving the fabric of the universe from threads pulled out of the air.
Her posthumous retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City in 1971 drew more visitors than shows by Diego Rivera or David Alfaro Siqueiros. She had died of a heart attack in 1963, at fifty-four, at the peak of her working life.
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