Surrealism

The mind perceives things differently from what it thinks a painting is trying to project. Each person has a different emotional reaction. The artist of this unknown painting wanted his viewer to feel this disconnection between many elements in his work. To envision and emote both a pleasant and unpleasant feeling from within. This reminds us of the infinite number of complicated renderings of what we envision within our dreams. The ambition of most artists is to captivate the arduous relationship we have with nature and the balance between life and loss. Trying to use the intensity of the intellect to display the physical impediments of mankind. 

    This painting is in the style of German artist Max Ernst. He uses a second piece of canvas or cloth to create a distorted texture. This artwork has the exact amount of confusion and irrationality seen in most surrealist artwork. Ernst filled in the cutouts of the body using the decalcomania printing technique to create an unnatural form. With the soft appearance of the woman and her humanistic parts, we see the stark contrast between the deep, dark caverns of her organically decorated innards. The involuntary automatism that is represented contests the rules of intelligence.

    Like his painting, Europe After the Rain, created between 1940 and 1942, this eroding subject matter stretches vertically from the top to the bottom of the canvas. In this unknown painting, the stretching of vertical lines and figures creates a downward falling movement with a sense of heaviness and weight. The deformed and dissolved woman portrays another example of surrealism pieced away formlessly removed from her body. This painting, created around the same time, defines the importance of the natural form and the interworking of our biological bodies. Delicately detailing the woman’s elusive outline versus the coarsely contrasted components, we see the battle between beauty and disgust. Rational and irrational. Organic and synthetic.

    This unknown painting reflects the thoughts and feelings of a different kind of distinction of deviation. The various aspects of each figure within the painting project a disconnected and mysterious impression. Pieces of the painting are shown ripped out and filled in with a complex consistency. These transformed components stand out against the soft background like a pieced-together collage. With the softness of the delicate pastel coloration on the faces, busts, and background of the figures, we see the same dreamlike scenes as shown in some French Baroque pieces of artwork. These two painting styles act against each other, portraying the stance of most intrepid surrealist artists compared to the traditional artworks of the past. Focusing on the unique distinction and curiosity of the unconscious, this artist defies the laws of logic. 

    Surrealism shows us our dreams and how they are unique and individual to the dreamer. Distorted forms and unfamiliar shapes are combined, manipulating our frame of mind. The way the figures melt down the canvas is like slowly dripping honey, giving this work of art movement and life. Dreams have the ability and the power to alter our perceptions and challenge what we know is possible. The artistic techniques we see within this unknown artwork challenge our notions of what is real and an illusion.