Sofía Celorio Mendoza (1913–1998) was a Mexican painter and writer whose work fused surrealism with alchemical symbolism, making her a distinctive voice in 20th-century Mexican art. A contemporary of Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo, Bassi shared their interest in the occult and otherworldly imagery. However, while Carrington and Varo often conveyed personal mythologies through intricate symbolism and surrealist narrative, Bassi’s approach was more expansive and abstract, crafting vast dreamlike landscapes filled with floating castles, spectral figures, and alchemical symbolism that evoke spiritual and personal transformation.

Born to a Spanish father and a Mexican mother, Bassi grew up in a conventional and stable household in Córdoba, Veracruz. She studied philosophy for two years at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and although she received no formal artistic training, she developed her visual language as a self-taught artist. Remarkably, she began painting at the age of 51, launching a prolific career that would include around 90 solo exhibitions and participation in 165 group shows across Mexico and internationally.

Bassi first married the Belgian aristocrat Hadelin Diericx at a young age, with whom she had two children. Her second marriage was to the Italian Gianfranco Bassi, an economist and chemical industrialist from a noble family, whose surname she adopted as her artistic name.

Bassi’s life took a dramatic turn in 1968, when she was convicted of murdering her son-in-law, the Italian Count Cesare d'Acquarone. The case attracted widespread public attention in both Italy and Mexico and remains shrouded in controversy. While serving her sentence, she continued to paint prolifically, turning to art as a means of personal transformation. Over five years, she created 275 works, signing them “ELC” (en la cárcel / “in prison”), marking a distinct and introspective phase in her artistic journey. Whereas her earlier paintings evoked expansive dreamscapes and metaphysical aspirations, her prison work adopted a more intimate, mournful, and emotionally charged tone. It was during this time that she redefined her artistic practice as a form of alchemy, embracing what she called the “esoteric force of art” as a channel for inner transformation.

A central motif in Bassi’s work is the egg, which she embraced as a powerful alchemical symbol of rebirth, and as a vessel of transition and transformation. Ovoid forms frequently appear in her paintings, floating through dreamlike landscapes or suspended in space. Surrounding them, Bassi often depicted castles, towers, and ruins, constructing a symbolic world shaped by change, introspection, and spiritual quest.

Throughout her life, Bassi claimed to be accompanied during her creative hours by a goblin named Alfolí, who, according to her, had also been a companion of Franz Anton Mesmer—the eighteenth-century physician who theorized “animal magnetism,” or the natural energetic connection between all living and non-living things. Alfolí served not only as a spiritual presence but also as a narrative figure in her literary work.

Over the course of her career, Bassi painted three murals. One of them was created while in prison in Acapulco, in collaboration with José Luis Cuevas, Alberto Gironella, Rafael Coronel, and Francisco Corzas; her section, titled La Calumnia (The Slander), expressed the emotional crisis she was undergoing. In 1970, she completed Primero mi patria, luego mi vida (First My Homeland, Then My Life), a patriotic work in Venetian mosaic, and in 1993, she painted Sabiduría es la paz (Wisdom is Peace), located in the Antonio Caso Library at the Faculty of Law, UNAM.

After her release from prison, Bassi resumed her career with renewed vigor, gaining further recognition in Mexico and abroad. In addition to her paintings, she was a prolific writer, publishing several books, including the novel El color del aire (The Color of Air, 1966) and Bassi… Prohibido pronunciar su nombre (Bassi… Forbidden to Speak His Name, 1978), a testimonial work in which she recounts her prison experience. Her literary output, like her painting, delved into themes of transformation, identity, and spirituality.

Among her most enigmatic creations was the Ovosarcófago (Ovosarcophagus), an egg-shaped sarcophagus on which she worked for ten years and in which she was eventually laid to rest. The Ovosarcófago was conceived as a vessel that Bassi personally designed for her soul’s journey beyond the material world. This notion of the egg as a vehicle is reflected throughout her paintings, where it often appears drifting through surreal terrains or navigating space, suggesting transit to distant galaxies or unknown inner realms.

Though often associated with surrealism, Bassi’s work defies easy classification, deeply rooted in esoteric imagery and a personal philosophy of constant personal transformation. Unlike many of her contemporaries, her engagement with alchemy was not merely thematic but existential: she lived her art as alchemy, turning even the darkest moments of her life into opportunities for inner awakening and creative regeneration.

Today, Sofía Bassi is recognized as a singular figure in Mexican modern art. Her paintings reflect a sustained interest in spiritual and alchemical themes, offering a distinctive contribution to the visual culture of twentieth-century Mexico.