A major figure of Surrealism, Bona de Mandiargues spent her childhood in Italy before moving to Paris in 1947. She studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, where she was mentored by her uncle, the poet and artist Filippo de Pisis. There, she developed an interest in early Christian mosaics, Renaissance painting, and the metaphysical art of Giorgio de Chirico, influences that would remain present throughout her career.
After World War II, Bona became part of André Breton’s Surrealist circle in Paris and developed a practice spanning painting, assemblage, and textiles. Her work explored transformation, dreams, and identity through imaginary creatures and hybrid forms. In 1958, following a trip to Mexico, she abandoned oil painting in favor of fabric collage, creating sewn compositions from discarded garments and found materials. These works, which she called “ragarts,” transformed everyday objects into reflections on memory, gender, and the relationship between the material and the symbolic.