SurrealismArt History

Ms. Blaylock

Kay Sage

An “ism” is a suffix at the end of many English words. It comes from Greek “ismos” and Latin “ismus”.

You have seen it at the end of words like optimism, Buddhism, racism, favoritism, and terrorism.

It signifies a belief, practice, idea, or movement. In art, there are many movements that end in ism.

What is an “ism”?

A few art “isms”

ImpressionismCubism

PointillismRealism

Surrealism

Surrealism was started in the 1920s.

Surrealism represents unreal situations, depicted realistically.

“The situations are impossible, but if they were to happen, that’s what it would look like.”

Surrealism

Surrealist artists focus on things found in the imagination or imagination or fantasy. fantasy. You might find every day objects as the subject in surrealism…

However, they aren’t doing every day things.

Surrealism

The Son of Man by Rene Magritte

André Breton, Valentine Hugo, Greta Knutson, Tristan Tzara

Exquisite Corpse

ca. 1930ink on paper

9 1/4 x 12 1/4 in.

Artists pass around a single drawing, working from each others previous drawings.

Surrealist would play this game with each other to help generate ideas for their art.

Exquisite Corpse

Giorgio De Chirico

The Melancholy and Mystery of a Street

1914oil on canvas34 1/4 x 28 1/4 in.

Giorgio De Chirico

The Great Metaphysician

1917oil on canvas41 1/8 x 27 1/2 in.

René Magritte

Time Transfixed

1938oil on canvas

57 1/2 x 38 1/2 in.

Belgian artist, Rene Magritte selected many objects in and around his home for subjects in his work.

Some of these objects can still be viewed in his home, now a museum in Brussels.

Rene Magritte

Golconde

Red Model

Clairvoyance

René Magritte

The False Mirror

1928oil on canvas21 1/4 x 21 7/8 in.

Kay Sage (1898-1963)

Kay Sage is an American Surrealist artist and poet. She worked in the United States and around Europe.

Danger, Construction Ahead by Kay Sage, 1940

Le Passage by Kay Sage, 1956

Margin of Silence by Kay Sage, 1942.

Tomorrow is Never by Kay

Sage, 1955.

Spanish artist, Salvador Dali is a very well known surrealist. He created a lot of art in his lifetime and was very successful.

His moustache is as famous as his art.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali

The Metamorphosis of Narcissus

1937oil on canvas51.2 x 78.5 cm

Self Portraitby Salvador Dali

Max Ernst with Katchina by Dorothea Tanning

Max Ernst

La Joie de Vivre

1936oil on canvas28 3/4 x 36 1/4 in.

Max Ernst

Europe After the Rain

1940-42oil on canvas21 1/2 x 58 1/8 in.

Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) Dorothea Tanning was an

American painter, sculptor, printmaker, and writer. She also worked with preforming artists, creating set designs and costumes for ballet and theatre.

A little night music, 1946Dorothea Tanning

Maternity, 1946Dorothea Tanning

So, what is surrealism?

To put it simply, it is a realistic depiction of an unreal situation.

Why do you think surreal art become popular?

Maybe, because was something new and the art world had never seen anything so different.

Sometimes surrealist artist appear to be just sticking different images together, that don’t really belong together, but somehow it fits…

Some artist will literally collage

pictures together without any

traditional art supplies.