The Magical World of the Maya by Leonora Carrington (Interpretation and Analysis)

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The Magical World of the Maya
Source: Imgur

I recently read a novel entitled Gods of Jade and Shadow, which tells the story of a young woman from Mexico who meets a Mayan death god and is forced to embark upon a quest with him. I enjoyed the novel tremendously, but while I was reading it, I was continually reminded of a painting that I encountered while researching Surrealist art in Mexico.

The Magical World of the Maya was created by British-Mexican artist Leonora Carrington, a Surrealist artist who made her permanent home in Mexico after fleeing Europe during World War II. The painting—really a small mural—depicts some of the beliefs and stories of the Mayan people, both past and present. The painting is divided into three sections, the underworld, the world of humans, and the cosmic world of the gods. According to a publication about the mural published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the painting represents the relationship the Mayans experienced with their divinities. As the publication notes, “the relationship among the diminutive humans and between them and the cosmos is ‘personal’ and concrete, not abstract and impersonal like ours...Magic reigns among the humans and for that reason, any activity undertaken makes sense—whether religious, or the most prosaic, like singing, planting, herding, or conversing.”

The painting was commissioned by the Mexican government for the National Museum of Anthropology and History in the 1960s, at a time in which there was a rising interest and pride in Mexico’s pre-Columbian past. As a propaganda piece, the painting is quite effective. It serves to situate modern Mexico in a long and continuous history of greatness, reaching back to the age of the Maya. It provides legitimacy and status to the state without any need to refer to Mexico’s colonial past.

While this is true, at its core, the painting explores the spiritual realities that give meaning to human life. Like many Surrealist painters, Carrington was interested in portraying the psychological realm, and this can be seen in her detailed and fantastical homage to Mayan mythology. However, The Magical World of the Maya is also a statement of love from Carrington to her adoptive country, a celebration of Mexican culture and imaginative life.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

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