Leonora Carrington (2026 exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris)

Journal de l'exposition: Leonora Carrington (2026). Cover art: a detail from: Leonora Carrington: Levitasium (1950). Huile sur toile. 55,2 x 30,1 cm. Frahm Collection.

Art in the poster: Leonora Carrington: Le Bon Roi Dagobert (Elk Horn), 1948 © Estate of Leonora Carrington / ADAGP, Paris.

Hermann Landshoff: Portrait of Leonora Carrington in her apartment at Greenwich Village around 1942. © BPK Berlin, dist. GrandPalaisRmn, image Archiv Landshoff.

Exhibition catalogue: Leonora Carrington. Musée du Luxembourg, Paris. Relié plein papier (PP). 21,5 × 28 cm. 208 pages. 160 illustrations. Ouvrage collectif, sous la direction de Tere Arcq et Carlos Martin. Only in a French edition. EAN : 9782711881550. Référence : EC408155. Cover art: a detail from: Leonora Carrington: Dando de comer a una mesa (1959). Huile sur toile, 57 x 70 cm. Collection particulière.

Roland Penrose: Four Women Asleep (Lee Miller, Ady Fidelin, Nusch Éluard, Leonora Carrington). At Lambe Creek, Cornwall, 1937. Print from colour reversal film. © Roland Penrose Estate, England 2020. Photo from: Roland Penrose – Objektiv Press (2024).

Leonora Carrington (exhibition from 18 February to 19 July 2026).

Co-organized by GrandPalaisRmn and Mondo Mostre. Curators: 

    Tere Arcq – Art historian, specialist in Surrealism in Mexico, and author of numerous exhibitions and publications on women Surrealists.

    Carlos Martín – Art historian, specialist in modern art and Surrealism, former curator at Fundación Mapfre (Madrid).

    Musée du Luxembourg, 19 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris.

    Visited on Saturday, 14 March 2026

OFFICIAL: "Artist, feminist and avant-garde environmentalist, woman, mother, migrant, marked by mental illness and spiritual quest, Leonora Carrington left behind a legacy as extraordinary as it is radical."

"Born in 1917 in Lancashire, England, Leonora Carrington forged her identity through travel, both internal and external. From Florence to Paris, from the South of France to Spain, and finally to Mexico, where she became a cult figure, her extraordinary path nourished a body of work at the crossroads of surrealism, mythology, and esotericism."

"This exhibition, bringing together 126 works, is the first major exhibition in France devoted exclusively to Carrington’s work. It presents Carrington as a “Vitruvian Woman”: a total artist representing a model of harmony and innovation. Her creations merge human and animal, masculine and feminine, giving form to a world where metamorphoses and symbols respond to each other."

"Through a chronological and thematic approach, as well as a unique presentation of her diverse visionary creations, the exhibition explores the artist's main themes and interests: her discovery of classical Italian art in Florence during her adolescence, her fascination with the Renaissance, her Celtic and post-Victorian origins, and her involvement in surrealism during her stay in France."

"The exhibition thus highlights the exceptional legacy of this perpetual traveler, always in search of self-knowledge."

AA: The first monograph exhibition of Leonora Carrington in France is a major event. It has been mounted with loving care by the curators Tere Arcq and Carlos Martin at the Musée du Luxembourg.

The journey is chronological and geographical, and it takes us from the milieu of grand bourgeoisie in Lancashire to the circle of the surrealists in London, Saint-Germain-des-Près in Paris and Ardèche in Southern France. During the Nazi Occupation, Carrington escapes to Spain. A gang rape by Franco's soldiers leads her to a psychotic condition. She is confined to a mental hospital in Santander at the request of her parents. In 1942 she moves to Mexico with her husband Renato Leduc. In 1968 she and her sons move to the United States. She becomes a citizen of honour of Mexico City and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. She is buried in the British cemetery of Mexico City.

This exhibition is above all an inner journey, starting in the core of surrealism. Two years ago the centenary of surrealism was celebrated, prominently in Brussels in two giant exhibitions: International at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique and Belgian at Bozar. In both, a male bias of the movement was evident, especially during the early decades. Female artists like Jane Graverol and Rachel Baes were acknowledged from the 1940s onwards.

The grand Leonora Carrington exhibition is for me a belated third part to the centenary celebration. She draws from her own dream world and is inspired by soulmates from art history including Botticelli and Bosch. She studies the Tibetan Book of the Dead and occult images from the fields of magic and alchemy, constantly expanding her imagination. She also becomes a devoted eco-feminist pioneer.

This is my introduction to Carrington, and I'm impressed by the grand arch of her development, the consistency and willpower in exploring the secret reaches of the imagination, constantly discovering something new while remaining true to herself, the resolve in fighting madness, violence and discrimination. I don't particularly care for her tarot universe and some of the colour solutions. Among my favourites is Snake Bike Floripondio (1975, oil on canvas, 59,5 x 80 cm, Colección Pérez Simon), a subtle and haunting dream apparition.  Not all of her best works are in the exhibition, such as The House Opposite (1945, tempera on wood, 82 cm, West Dean College). I look forward to the next Leonora Carrington to see it and even more.

The exhibition catalogue and journal are excellent keepsakes. The introductory texts are superb and the quality of the illustrations is high. After the visit to the formidable exhibition full of wild images it is a good idea to stay and meditate at the Salon de thé, Mademoiselle Angelina. 

OFFICIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

"Figure majeure de l’art du xxe siècle, Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) a traversé frontières, continents et mouvements artistiques, laissant une œuvre aussi foisonnante qu’insaisissable. Née en Angleterre, formée entre Londres, Florence et Paris, elle rejoint l’avant-garde surréaliste avant de connaître l’exil, de l’Espagne à New York, puis de s’établir définitivement au Mexique, où elle est reconnue aux côtés de Frida Kahlo et de Remedios Varo. Entre mythes fondateurs et récits intimes, Carrington explore la métamorphose, le féminin sacré, la magie, l’alchimie et l’écologie, élaborant une cartographie intérieure nourrie de mythes celtiques, d’ésotérisme européen et de traditions spirituelles du monde entier. Ce catalogue accompagne la première grande rétrospective consacrée à l’artiste en France et offre une traversée sensible et éclairée de son œuvre, guidée par des spécialistes internationaux. Un voyage fascinant au cœur d’une imagination indomptable, libre et visionnaire."

SOMMAIRE

Carlos Martin: Nostalgie des rivages : une première maturité artistique

Tere Arcq: Le voyage de l’héroïne : une cartographie de l’âme

Gabriel Weisz Carrington: À la recherche du fantôme intérieur

Leonora Carrington: Animal humain femelle

    CATALOGUE DES ŒUVRES EXPOSÉES

Aux origines d’un Grand Tour intérieur

La Mariée du Vent : un voyage transnational à travers le surréalisme

Dépaysement : mémoire des origines, nostalgie des rivages

Le voyage de l’héroïne

L’obscurité lumineuse

La cuisine alchimique

    Susan L. Aberth: Percer le voile : les manœuvres rituelles

    Kristoffer Noheden: Leonora Carrington et le nouveau mythe

    Karla Segura Pantoja: Humour hyénique et transgression féministe

ANNEXES

Chronologie

Bibliographie

Liste des œuvres exposées reproduites