Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River by Remedios Varo (Interpretation and Analysis)

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Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River
Source: WikiArt
When you’re looking for a painting to spark your imagination, you can always count on Remedios Varo. Varo was one of the most creative and original artists of her age. Her paintings feature strange structures and otherworldly contraptions as well as a vast array of colorful and unusual characters.

Though her art often portrayed fantastical scenes, Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River has its origins in actual events. The piece depicts Varo in a strange, red boat sailing through an aquatic forest. Water spills from a crystal goblet that stands inside the trunk of a tree. The water feeds the river, the mystical source of the Orinoco River in Varo’s imaginings.

Varo was part of a real expedition to the actual Orinoco River in Venezuela in 1947. This experience undoubtedly inspired Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River, which was painted more than ten years after the original expedition.

However, Varo’s artistic rendering of the subject takes on spiritual and emotional dimensions that go far beyond the scope of a scientific expedition. Instead, Varo reimagines the journey down the river as a spiritual quest. She borrows imagery associated with the Medieval motif of the quest for the Holy Grail to add a solemn and mystical air to her painting. The quest for the Grail is traditionally associated with the pursuit of perfect virtue and truth, a holy mission.

Varo’s painting lacks the religious undertones, yet it is clear that the painting symbolizes an internal search, an emotional voyage into the subconsciousness. According to my research, the piece reflects Varo’s interest in psychology. Thus, Exploring the Sources of the Orinoco River symbolizes her own personal journey to enlightenment and self-realization, a modern day version of the holy search for truth.

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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