Dream and Premonition
Author: María Izquierdo
Name: Dream and Premonition (Sueño y presentimiento)
Date: 1947
Material: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 17.72 × 23.62 inches.
Location: Private collection
In Dream and Premonition (Sueño y presentimiento), María Izquierdo presents a haunting self-portrait that merges surreal symbolism with an introspective meditation on her own fate and suffering. She appears at a window, holding her own severed head, her long hair entwined with the branches and roots of trees stretching ominously into the distance. Her headless body, along with other decapitated figures, flees through a barren, metaphysical landscape, evoking an intense sense of foreboding. The stark imagery suggests an unsettling premonition of her own physical decline, as if her unconscious mind had visualized the struggles that awaited her.
At the center of the composition, a cross stands in a small red boat, simultaneously grounded and adrift within this surreal, desolate world. The cross recalls the Christian imagery that permeated Mexican culture and Izquierdo’s own upbringing, but here, it takes on an ambiguous meaning. It may represent sacrifice, redemption, or the inevitability of suffering, reflecting the personal and professional trials that defined the latter part of her life.
Just months after completing this painting, Izquierdo suffered a stroke that left the right side of her body paralyzed and took away her ability to speak. This moment marked a tragic culmination of the struggles she had endured in the Mexican art world—most notably, her rejection from the 1945 Government Palace mural project. The loss of this historic opportunity severely impacted her health, and some of her contemporaries noted that the stress of the episode may have contributed to her decline.
Despite these challenges, Izquierdo demonstrated extraordinary resilience. Through sheer determination, she taught herself to paint with her non-dominant hand, continuing to work even as her physical abilities deteriorated. Dream and Premonition stands as a testament to Izquierdo’s visionary artistic voice, prophetic reflection of her fate and a powerful allegory of artistic voice, prophetic reflection of her fate and a powerful allegory of artistic endurance in the face of adversity.