Eyes on the table 1938

What do you see? The Spanish and Mexican painter Remedios Varo was trained in traditional oil painting at the prestigious Academy of Fine Art in Madrid, but rejected the formal techniques of the Old Masters in favour of an avant-garde style. The enigmatic painting depicts a pair of faceless eyes atop a floating wooden panel. Facing the eyes is an empty pair of spectacles, complete with thick eyelashes attached to the frame. The motif of disembodied eyes is common in canonical Western art, and is typically associated with the Christian figure of Saint Lucy. In Eyes on the table, however, Varo renounces any sense of tradition. The artist has abandoned realism and turned to the uncanny and fantastical themes of the surrealists. Varo was especially interested in harnessing the imagery of dreams, believing them to offer an insight into the unconscious mind. In this painting, eyes become symbolic of both literal and metaphorical vision. It explores themes of prophecy, truth, and perception to challenge the uncomplicated narratives of traditional academic painting, encouraging the viewer to adopt an introspective and contemplative state of mind. What do you think? Does Eyes on the table represent a break with the past? Editor: Lucy Jude Grantham