René
Magritte was a Belgian surrealist painter. Born in November of 1898,
Magritte grew up through traumatic adversity. His Mother was suicidal through
the early years of his life. In fact, it was severe to the point of his Father
being forced to lock her in a room. She unfortunately escaped and drowned herself
in a river. When she was found, her dress was covering her face—an image found
in many of Magritte’s paintings (ex. Les
Amants). Not much is known of Magritte’s early life; it is apparent it was
quite tragic. René began taking drawing lessons in 1910. His career took off in
1915. He was one of the biggest components of surrealism and was celebrated
immensely throughout Belgium.
Erik
Johansson is a surrealist photographer. Born April 1985 in Sweden, Erik
has a knack for creativity. He captures his ideas in unimaginable forms by
combining photographs together. He transforms images through software’s much
like Adobe Photoshop.
Artist’s Name: René Magritte
Title: The
Treachery of Images
Date: 1928-29
Description: A picture
of a brown, gold, and black pipe with a yellow background. Meant to look
realistic, hence the effect of light shining off of the surface of the pipe.
Under it, a French sentence, “Ceci n'est
pas une pipe.” Which means, “This is
not a pipe.”
Analysis: This
picture provides great depth and is incredibly thought-provoking much like many
of Migrette’s other works. It explains the theory that the pipe is merely an
image of a pipe—not an actual pipe.
Interpretation: In the
deepest interpretation, I believe this tries to explain the true nature of
reality. It represents an idea of forms, hinting that it isn’t the primary form
of a pipe. Judgement: In conclusion,
I think that Magritte did an exceptional job explaining the meaning behind this
painting. The painting is in fact an image of a pipe, not an actual pipe. This
can be shown through great detail and the sentence.
Title: A painting
too real
Date: 2008
Description: A picture of
a lady holding a picture of a boat dock. As she tilts the picture, it begins to
leak. As the title states, it’s a picture too real.
Analysis: This
picture is incredibly well-done. It looks as if the picture frame is actually
leaking water from the dock. Almost as if it’s titled just enough to spill out
water. On top of that, you can see the ladies reflection in the water and it
appears as if it is actually splashing off the floor.
Interpretation: I can’t
see any deep meaning behind this photograph, but the idea is apparent. The
picture looks legitimately real. It absolutely looks as if the water is
dripping out of the picture frame.
Judgement: In conclusion, I think that Johansson did an outstanding
job on this photo. The idea behind it brilliant and he carried it out very successfully.
It’s hard to look away from this photograph.
Compare and
Contrast
Magritte and Johansson grew up living two very different
lives. While little is known about both men, it is recognized that Magritte
went through some tragic events growing up; this including the disturbing death
of his mother. On the other hand, however, there is no such knowledge of
Johansson’s childhood. I believe that the two artists differences growing up
have clear effects on their work. For example, Magritte makes paintings full of
emotion—even symbolizing his Mother’s dress, whereas Johansson’s works are more
creative and joyous.
