Surrealism

1. Surrealism  is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur; however, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artefact. Leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a revolutionary movement. Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities during World War I and the most important center of the movement was Paris. From the 1920s onward, the movement spread around the globe, eventually affecting the visual arts, literature, film, and music of many countries and languages, as well as political thought and practice, philosophy, and social theory.

2. Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech • (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989) • His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissancemasters. • Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media.

3. The persistence of Memory • 1931. Oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 13“

4. The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory • 1950’s • 10” x 13”

5. mAxernst • (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.

6. The Elephant Celebes  • Oil on Canvas 1921, 125.4cm x 107.9cm Tate Gallery, London  • It was likely inspired by his war experience, the mechanistic elephant like a tank and the smoke trail in the sky suggesting a shot down aircraft. Fragments of body parts that appear in Ernst's work could have been associated with the actual battle field of horrific images and devastation.       The fragmented body parts have also been historically interpreted as Surreal and fantasy psychological and modern symbols of disassociation of the body from the mind. With Ernst's background of psychology and his experience in the battlefield of WW1 it is likely that both were large influences on his artwork.

8. MC ESCHER • MauritsCornelis Escher, usually referred to as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Wikipedia

9. Relativity, 1953 WATERFALL, 1961

10. Hands, 1948

11. Rene Magritte • René François Ghislain Magritte (21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgiansurrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images that fell under the umbrella of surrealism. His work challenges observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality.

12. The Empire of Light, c. 1950–1954, Museum of Modern Art Magritte's use of ordinary objects in unfamiliar spaces is joined to his desire to create poetic imagery

13. Hieronymus Bosch, ca.1490-1510 • The Garden of Earthly Delights • Art historians and critics frequently interpret the painting as a didactic warning on the perils of life's temptations.[6] However, the intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries.[7] Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych's central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost.