Surrealistic Artists

René Magritte
http://www.guastalla.com/en/artisti/rene-magritte

René Magritte-

René Magritte was born on November 21, 1898 in Lessines, Belgium. He studied at the Academie des Beaux-Art in 1912 which was around the time of his mother’s suicide. In 1922, he married Georgette Berger and took on many small jobs to pay the bills. Early in his career and marriage, he spent most of his time creating different art pieces. During this time, he became very interested in the concept of surrealism. Most of Magritte’s works were described as cavernous, bizarre, and his work also had recurring themes or similar scenes.

Magritte has his first solo show in 1927 at the Galerie la Centaurie. Following the depression from harsh critics at his solo show, René Magritte befriended an artist by the name of Andre Breton and became involved in a surrealist group. René Magritte lived and worked most of his life in Brussels, but has had his works in exhibits around the world. Magritte died of pancreatic cancer on August 15, 1967 in Lessines, Belgium. He is known for being a leader in surrealism and his works can still be viewed at many art museums and exhibits.

Frida Kahlo-

Frida Kahlo
http://www.fridakahlo.org/


 

Frida Kahlo de Rivera was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico. Kahlo first began painting after she was severely injured in a bus accident. She was impaled by a steel handrail and suffered injuries such as spine and pelvis fractures.  Not only did this accident jolt Frida into becoming an artist, she also became politically active; eventually marrying a communist artist in 1929 by the name of Diego Rivera. In her paintings (most being self-portraits), she used surrealistic, realist, and traditional Mexican elements. Frida Kahlo died (possibly due to pulmonary embolism) on July 13, 1954 in Coyoacán, Mexico at her iconic Blue House. Kahlo’s legacy lives on in her Blue House which opened as a museum in 1958, becoming a feminist icon during the feminist movement of the 1970s, several biographies, and a 2002 film entitled Frida.

 

 

Artist’s Name: René Magritte

Title: The False Mirror

Date: 1928

Description: The piece depicts an eye with a sky strewn with clouds in the iris. The pupil of the eye is just a dark circle. Also, the eye lacks of eyelashes.

Analysis: This piece is fairly symmetrical vertically and horizontally if you don’t account for the clouds in the iris. It seems that Magritte avoided concepts such as rule of thirds to enable viewers to really analyze the concept of looking into the eye while the eye looks back at the viewers.

Interpretation: I interpret this piece as Magritte blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Though the sky catches the viewer’s attention due to its color palette, the viewer snaps back into “reality” once they realize they sky is the iris of an eye. This also brings the question of who’s looking at whom: the eye staring at the viewers or the viewers staring at the eye.

Judgment: I really like this piece especially how realistic it appears to be despite the distinctive iris. I also admire how the sky is painted just as realistic as the entire eye.

 

 

Artist’s Name: Frida Kahlo

Title: The Wounded Deer

Date: 1946

Description: Frida depicts herself with her head on the body of a deer. The deer’s body is struck by 9 arrows. Though Frida’s face appears emotionless, the deer’s body seems to be in the motion of running away. The background presents a lifeless forest with cloudy sky in the distance.

Analysis: This piece is asymmetrical and uses dark, to some extent muted, colors to set the tone of this painting.

Interpretation: Considering prior knowledge of Frida Kahlo’s hospitalization after a bus accident, I find that this painting is reminiscent of the pain Kahlo endured because of the accident. Frida Kahlo suffered severe back pain because of the accident as well as several spine and pelvis fractures which are depicted through the placement of the arrows on the deer. I believe this background was chosen because the scenery gives a sense of isolation or desperation due to lack of bright colors and other forms of life.

Judgment: Ultimately, I believe this work of Kahlo’s is very successful. However, I feel that viewers won’t really appreciate the artwork unless they are aware of Kahlo’s hospitalization.

 

Though the previously featured works of René Magritte and Frida Kahlo both depict the surrealist art form, each artist exhibited different styles, tones, and imagery in their work. Considering Frida Kahlo is not a surrealist artist, The Wounded Deer exemplifies surrealism in illustrating Frida as a wounded deer. René Magritte, on the other hand, has practiced and consistently painted surrealist art. Though experience in the field would provide more success in work, Kahlo’s surrealist painting is able to be amongst artwork of Magritte’s by use of inspiration from unfortunate experiences. Magritte’s experience was coping with his mother’s suicide and being harshly critiqued for his art. Kahlo’s experience was being hospitalized. Something very similar between the two artists is that they both use very natural colors and keep their artwork as realistic as they can along with their fantasy aspects. Ultimately, both artists successfully created art that descends reality.