Wisdom is Peace

Author: Sofía Bassi

Title: Sabiduría es Paz (Wisdom is Peace)

Date: 1993

Material: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 90.5 × 187.8 inches (2.30 × 4.77 meters)

Location: Antonio Caso Library, Faculty of Law, National University of Mexico

Rights: Sofía Bassi Foundation

Sofía Bassi’s Wisdom is Peace is the last of the three murals she created, painted in her studio and later transferred to the Antonio Caso Library at the Faculty of Law, UNAM. This monumental composition embodies Bassi’s vision of wisdom as the path to transcendence, merging esoteric symbolism with an expansive, dreamlike landscape. The American continent is transformed into a living, shifting entity, where barren trees, spectral terrain, and celestial forms converge in an allegory of knowledge and spiritual evolution.

At the center, a robed woman emerges from the earth with outstretched arms, invoking wisdom as a force of transformation. To her right, a contemplative figure sits within a hollowed-out form, absorbed in thought while holding a book inscribed with knowledge, reinforcing the link between learning and inner peace. Above, ethereal swans glide across the sky, accompanied by undulating white banners, evoking the transmission of wisdom beyond the material world. A glowing blue egg—one of Bassi’s recurring alchemical symbols—hovers over the northern region, suggesting creation and enlightenment.

Bassi’s signature surrealist motifs—floating landscapes and cosmic symbolism—coalesce in this work, reflecting her deep engagement with alchemical themes and transformation. Created decades after her incarceration, the mural echoes themes she explored in prison, where she painted prolifically as a means of both personal and spiritual transmutation. The inscription in the lower-left corner, Sabiduría es paz (Wisdom is Peace), serves as both title and declaration, encapsulating the mural’s central message: wisdom, in its highest form, leads to harmony and transcendence.