Rene Magritte & Surrealism

1.     What is surrealism?

      The juxtaposition of unrelated objects, such as real-life objects side-to-side with stuff from                   dreams put into art.

2.     What motif did Magritte use in many of his works? Why was this significant?

      A man wearing a bowler hat. Magritte, as a businessman, dressed like this and saw so many other       men dressed like this that he became inspired by the ubiquity of it.

3.     In his work Golconda, why is it important that Magritte varied the image of the man in the bowler hat?  How does it add depth to the work?

      It separates from being just dull repetition and makes it more interesting to look at and inspect on       a closer level. The subtle differences make you wonder who or what the artist is painting.

4.     Why did surreal artists choose to create strange worlds with their art?
     
       They felt the world we lived in had already been thoroughly explored and represented artistically        and it would be more interesting to direct their work to the world of dreams.

5.     Explain how the techniques of juxtaposition, altered scale, and language help Magritte explore Surrealism. 

      Magritte invites his viewers in with complicated and beautiful imagery, but leaves them confused       as to the actual meaning of his art.      

6.     What would be a few reasons why Magritte would cover the faces of his subjects?

       Many theorists say the traumatic death of his mother, who was supposedly found with her face            covered, when he was only 12 influenced him greatly.

7.     Why did Magritte strive for realism & precision in his paintings?

      The precise and miniature details in his dream-like paintings help to ground strange scenes in             reality.

8.     Google more of Magritte’s work and include 2 images that interest you.

• Explain the technique(s) used to enhance the work

Clairvoyance

   Magritte employs his motif of a man in a suit and makes his painting absurd by having the subject      paint a picture of a bird while staring at an unhatched egg. It is so impractical it is as if it came from    a dream.

The Art of Living

Here Magritte uses mismatched proportions in his painting of a suited man with a disproportionately large and round head and regular sized facial features.