Surrealists

Salvador Dali (1952) The Disintegration of Time Persistence of Memory. [oil on canvas] 25.4 x 33 cm.
Giorgio de Chirico (1916) Le Muse inquietanti. [oil on canvas] 100 x 70 cm.
Max Ernst (1941) The Stolen Mirror. [Oil on canvas] 65 x 81 cm.
Mimi Parent (1953) Untitled.
  • Subject matter drawn from dreams2 4. In Dali’s case drug induced hallucinations2.
  • Max Ernst painted absurd, utopian, and strange landscapes inspired from the trauma of his war experience3
  • Its interesting how radically differently each artist approaches their work despite being grouped together as a movement. Speaks to the philosophy they are chasing, perhaps, rather than the output.
    • Reminds me of a comment made by Michele Whiting in Lecture: Contextualization “The process is fundamental, the outcome just kind of happens” (Michele Whiting, lecture, Jan 21 2023)

Symbolists

“Rather than sharing a single artistic style, they were unified by a shared pessimism and weariness of the decadence they perceived in modern society. The Symbolists sought escape from reality, expressing their personal dreams and visions through color, form, and composition” (Myers, 8/2007)

Gustav Klimt (1902) Forest of Beech Trees. [Oil on canvas]
Gustav Klimt (c1910) Death and Life. [Oil on canvas] 180.5 x 200.5cm.

Gustav Klimt

The symbolists have many artists that have really caught my attention over the years, but Klimt holds a very lasting connection for me. Solid human forms dissolve into textile lozenges, and mosaic — I love this tension between flat non-spacial against the beautifully realized people.

But in terms of landscape, Klimt is very different. Busy, unrestrained, bewildering. When I look at his forests they feel a bit more than real — I feel like they represent very specific moments that I’ve found myself walking in. Moments of sunset in leafy forests — closed in, and yet at the same time open and glowing with light.

Chagall

I have no specific evidence that Chagall was a Surrealist, Expressionist or Symbolist. But reading through Chagall: Masters of Art, I can see that he lived and worked alongside the artists of these movements. It feels like he has taken and expanded upon the ideas.

Canadian Expressionists

There are a number of Canadians that are classified as Expressionists. I need to spend more time and become familiar with them — being from my own backyard. What makes them the same or different? I need to chase that thread.

  • Follow up: Paterson Ewen, Bertram Brooker, Kathleen Munn, Walter Yarwood

Bibliography

1 Bertram Brooker (2018) At: https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/bertram-brooker/biography (Accessed 29/01/2023).

2 Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931 | MoMA (s.d.) At: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018 (Accessed 29/01/2023).

3 Max Ernst: 50 Famous Paintings Analysis and Biography (s.d.) At: https://www.max-ernst.com/ (Accessed 29/01/2023).

4 Mimi Parent (2022) In: Wikipedia. At: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mimi_Parent&oldid=1117852187 (Accessed 29/01/2023).

5 Myers, A. N. (8/2007) Symbolism | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. At: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/symb/hd_symb.htm (Accessed 29/01/2023).

6 Ines Schlenker (2022) Chagall: Masters of Art. London: Prestel Verlag.