Between the Representatives of surrealism More outstanding we can mention artists of the painting like Dalí, of the poetry like Bretón or of the cinema like Buñuel.
Surrealism is an artistic movement that began in Paris, France in 1924 with André Breton's"Surrealist Manifesto".
In this manifesto, Breton defines surrealism as:"pure psychic automatism through which attempts are made to express in an oral, written, or by any other method, the actual functioning of thought. In the absence of any control exercised by reason and exempt from any aesthetic or moral exigency."
In this sense, the surrealist movement is based on the belief that the sleeping mind, also known as the unconscious mind, is the source of the imagination. For this reason, the works of surrealism often appear as dreamlike images, drawn from dreams, with extravagant perceptions of space, incongruities and fantastic elements.
Surrealism introduced new techniques. In painting, for example, the Frottage (From the French"to rub") and the decalcomania, methods that, according to the artists of the movement, allowed to express the contents of the subconscious.
The decalcomanía was to apply painting in a canvas without framing, to bend it and to expand the painting and then to open it again. Thus the artist had no control over the results of the decalcomania.
For his part, in the literature, mechanical writing was used, which consisted of writing everything that came to mind without stopping to even think about the fact of being writing.
Also, the surrealist artists incursionaron in the photography and the cinema. In this way, the short film"Un perro andaluz"(1929), directed by Luis Buñuel with the participation of Salvador Dalí, is one of the maximum exponents in terms of films. Thus, among the main representatives of this aesthetic stand out:
Exponents of the surrealist movement
1- André Breton (1896 - 1966)
Breton was a French writer and poet, considered the father of surrealism. His writings show certain characteristics of Dadaism, an artistic movement that preceded surrealism and which laid the foundations for the development of surrealism.
Between his writings, they emphasize"Nadja"(1928),"What is Surrealism?"(1934) and"Surreal Manifesto"(1924), a work that supported the free expression and the liberation of the subconscious.
2- Salvador Dalí (1904 - 1989)
Dalí was a Spanish painter and writer. He is probably one of the movement's best-known artists. It entered to form part of the surrealist circle after the premiere of"An Andalusian dog".
In his paintings, he combined superrealistic and hyperrealist elements, which show a strong influence of the Psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud . Between his works they emphasize"The persistence of the memory"(1931) and"Swans reflecting elephants".
3- Luis Buñuel (1900 - 1983)
Buñuel was a Spanish director. His films are characterized by the representation of both dream images and desires of the subconscious.
He collaborated twice with Salvador Dalí, in 1928 ("An Andalusian Dog") and in 1930 ("The Golden Age"). One of its most emblematic productions is"The Angel Exterminator", in which a group of people is locked in a dining room for unknown reasons.
4- Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954)
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her self-portraits. His life was marked by illness: at 6, suffered polio, a disease that damaged his right leg and at 18, suffered a car accident that severely injured his spine and pelvis. In total it was submitted to 35 operations, period in which Frida Kahlo began to paint.
His paintings are strongly influenced by the Mexican culture and express the suffering he had to go through after the accident, as well as the physical and psychic damage that this generated.
5 - Joan Miró (1893 - 1983)
Miró was a Spanish painter characterized for representing Hallucinations In his paintings. His paintings were painted with a limited range of bright colors, highlighting yellow, blue, red and green.
Miró's paintings do not seek to represent the unconscious, but reflect the artist's automatism.
6- René Magritte (1898 - 1961)
Magritte was a Belgian painter. At first glance, his works appear to have a highly realistic character, however, after careful observation, incongruous images and scenes will be observed.
Magritte's works sought to reflect what lies behind appearances; For this, he used to paint isolated objects, so that the spectator questioned the meaning of these.
One could highlight his period between 1920 and 1924, where he shows influences from different artistic currents such as Cubism, Orphism, Futurism Or Purism.
7- Max Ernst (1891-1976)
Ernst was a German painter, representative of the surrealist movement, as well as his predecessor, the Dadaist movement. His collaboration with surrealism was of great importance: in 1925, he introduced techniques Frottage Y Decal .
Many of his works represent anthropomorphic and fantastic figures in landscapes of the Renaissance. Others reflect the trauma suffered during World War I.
8- Dorothea Tanning (1910 - 2012)
Tanning was an American sculptor, illustrator, painter and writer, who joined the surrealist circle after World War II. In 1942 he met Max Ernst and in 1946 they were married. His works reflect exotic images, psychotic dreams and metamorphic figures.
9- Marcel Duchamp (1887 - 1968)
Duchamp was a French artist who grew up in a family of artists. Of his five brothers, three of these were dedicated to art as a profession.
Duchamp's works went through several stages, beginning with Cubism. He also collaborated with the development of Dadaism and Surrealism. One of his most notable works is"Naked descending the stairs".
Despite having started his artistic career as a painter, he abandoned this art and dedicated himself to sculpture. As a sculptor, he presented objects of daily life without even altering them. Duchamp's work inspired other modern movements, such as the pop art of posterity.
10- Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
This Spanish painter stood out for his sculptures and paintings with influences of various styles, among them surrealism. He also tackled ceramics, drawing or costume design for plays.
Pablo Picasso is considered one of the most important painters of Spanish art of the twentieth century for witnessing his time. His most important works"El guernica"represents the tragedy of the bombing on the Spanish town of Guernica, exhibited today in the Reina Sofía Art Museum in Madrid.
References
- Brahman, Diana (2001). Surrealist Art in NOMA's Collection. Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from noma.org.
- Breton, André (1924). Manifesto of Surrealism Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from exquisitecorspe.com.
- Surrealism and Women Artists. Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from lacma.org.
- Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from saylor.org.
- Salvador Dalí: Biography. Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from philamuseum.org.
- Frida Kahlo. Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from cdn.shopify.com.
- Turkel, Daniel (2009). The Message of Surrealist Art: Automatism, Juxtaposition and Dreams. Retrieved on February 26, 2017, from danturkel.com.