From the Atlantic to the Pacific: Maruja Mallo in Exile

Authors

Shirley Mangini, California State University, Long Beach

Keywords

Maruja Mallo, art theory, art, Europe, Spanish Republic, transcendent, exile, Latin America, avant-garde, painters, ideology, female sexuality, journey

Abstract

Maruja Mallo's life (1902-1995) and art represent one woman's odyssey from the European vanguards to political commitment during the Spanish Republic (1931-1939) and finally to a unique transcendent art form after her wrenching exile from Spain and her residence in Latin America from 1937 to 1965. In her early career she was a leader among the avant-garde painters when few Spanish women were recognized as creative artists. In Latin America, her work diverged radically from European avant-garde trends and from her ideologically oriented subject matter of the 1930s; Mallo not only reflects the impact of her discovery of the Pacific Ocean and her newfound "zest for life," but also clearly defines a new language that celebrates the female body and female sexuality. This essay traces Mallo's personal and artistic journey from Spain to Latin America and back.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Mangini, Shirley (2006) "From the Atlantic to the Pacific: Maruja Mallo in Exile ," Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature: Vol. 30: Iss. 1, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.1616