Published in 1878, Eça de Queiroz’ novel Cousin Bazilio is a story of marriage, betrayal, blackmail and, ultimately, death that, set in bourgeois Portuguese society with a finely drawn cast and luxurious detail, intersects with many of the themes and motifs of Rego’s art. On view are two works inspired by scenes from the novel that make numerous connections between interiors and interior states. Paradise, 2015, refers to the interior in which two characters from the novel, Luisa and her cousin Bazilio, conduct an affair – de Queiroz’ paradise is in fact a rather sordid rented room. Rego contrasts the stilted interaction of the couple with the wild abandon of smaller, naked figures on the floor (based on an ornament given to the artist by her daughter).

About the artist

Born in 1935 in Lisbon, Portugal, Dame Paula Rego RA lives and works in London. The largest and most comprehensive retrospective of Rego’s work to date takes place at Tate Britain (7 July–24 October 2021). Additional current solo institutional exhibitions include Museum De Reede, Antwerp, Belgium (8 July–4 October 2021).

Recent major solo exhibitions include Paula Rego: Obedience and Defiance, curated by Catherine Lampert, which travelled from MK Gallery, Milton Keynes to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh in 2019–2020 and was on view at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin from September 2020–May 2021. Her work is in the collections of major museums including the British Museum, London, UK; National Gallery, London, UK; National Portrait Gallery, London, UK; Tate, UK and the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK.