An artist who stood out for her social contribution through her works, in which she touched on issues considered popularly controversial and in which she left her mark. Here is a brief summary of Paula Rego’s legacy.
Who’s Paula Rego?
From a very wealthy family, Paula was born in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. She was a painter and illustrator. Her professional training took place mainly in London, where she attended one of the most prestigious art schools. Her early works had a neo-dadaist and informal character. She mixed painting, collages, together with images that revealed her harsh childhood.
Since then, she has become one of the most interesting representatives of contemporary art. Her works seek to stand out for their distance from fashion, presenting themselves as timeless and universal, but with a style somewhere between pop art and expressionism.
What about her legacy?
The controversy generated by his works allowed him to give visibility to issues such as the reality of women in a sexist world, the right (or not) to abortion, authoritarianism, discrimination, social inequality, sexual abuse, the suffering of children, the secrets of the most powerful, among others.
His hallmark was his great ability to give form to the tragic, to fear, accentuating the sinister side of things.
Some of his most important works were “A Família, 1988”, “Tríptico del aborto, 1998”, “Dog Woman, 1994”, “Blancanieves y madrastra, 1995”, “Enferemería, 2007”. In each of them, the themes described above can be seen reflected, that is why Paula Rego’ legacy is, for our luck, a fact.
The painter of sinister innocence (as many called her) passed away at the age of 87 on 8 June 2022 in the city that was her home for many years, London. The art world mourns her loss to this day, although we know that Paula Rego’s legacy will be with us forever.
