Comparative Study: Surrealism

By:Paula Valle

For my comparative study Im focusing on surrealism, and the meaning behind different
surrealism works of art. For this I will be comparing the works of Max Ernst, Salvador Dali and
Michele Parliament. Surrealism was always my favorite art movement, but I learned more
about it my junior year when I was looking for artist connections, because of this some of my
artworks are based on the Surrealism movement. Michele Parliament is a local artist I found
and was fascinated with her work, my last art piece is going to be inspired by one of her
artworks.

Surrealism
A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and
literature that sought to release the creative
potential of the unconscious mind, for example by
the irrational juxtaposition of images. Surrealism
was created in Paris by writers and artist, in the
late 1910s and the early 1920s. Surrealism tried
to show the power of imagination of the
subconscious. The first visual artist that started
working with surrealist techniques were German
Max Ernst, French Andre Masson, Spaniard Joan
Miro, and American Man Ray. Other famous artist
that have worked with surrealist techniques are
Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte.

Max Ernst
Max Ernst was born in 1891 in Bruhl, Germany. He
was best known for his unconscious for dreamlike
imagery that mocked social conventions. He was a
soldier in World War I, which traumatized Ernst of the
western culture. Ernst's artistic vision, showed
strongly in his Dada and Surrealists works. He spend
most of his life in France, during WWII Ernst was a
refugee in the United States and was categorized as
an "enemy alien". His work surrealist technique is still
very influential to this day. He later on died in 1976 in
Paris, France.

Salvador Dali
Salvador Dal was born on May 11, 1904, in
Figueres, Spain. From an early age, Dal was
encouraged to practice his art and would eventually
go on to study at an academy in Madrid. In the
1920s, he went to Paris and started working with
artists such as Picasso, Magritte and Mir, which
inspired Dal's first Surrealist phase. He is best
known for his 1931 painting The Persistence of
Memory, showing melting clocks in a landscape
setting. The rise of fascist leader Francisco Franco
in Spain led to the artist's expulsion from the
Surrealist movement, which didnt stop Dali from
painting. He later on died in Figueres in 1989.

Michele Parliament
Born on 1966 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She always
had a passion for art but when she was 18 she was
forced by her mother to go to nursing school. She
kept drawing all her life and when she got to her 50s
she decided to go to MIAD, she defines herself as a
art school dropout since she dropped out during
second semester but she still has had 25 shows and
she mentioned in her blog that even though she didnt
finish art school going to MIAD opened up a lot of
doors to her. She works with acrylic paint and also
works a lot with photoshop resulting in having many
digital collages. Most of her work is surrealism but she
also has portraits and figure drawings/paintings of the
women figure.

Max Ernst

Ernst, Max. Fireside Angel.1937

Appears to be leaping with a violent, but at

the same time joyous, look on its face.
Fireside Angel is a work of art which was
inspired by world political events
The artist created the painting after Franco
the fascist leader of Spain beat the
Republicans in the Spanish Civil War
Ernst tried to create a painting suggestive of
the events he feared were spreading across
Europe
He did the misleading title, to attract viewers
with pleasing words, and then surprise them
into questioning their own thoughts by
naming creatures as angels

Yellow represents
sunshine so theres not
that much yellow

The sky is
starting to
turn dark to
show the
rough times
people go
through
during war

Red tones to show blood, war,

danger, power and determination

Monstrous Face:
the painting shows
a sign of
protectiveness by
having angel in the
title but in reality it
s a violent creature

Other creature to show the fighting

in the Spanish Civil War

Salvador Dali

Dali, Salvador. Soft Construction with

Boiled Beans. 1936

Dali created this painting to show the

horrors of the Spanish Civil War
Dali painted this 6 months before the
Spanish Civil War had even happened
and then said that he knew the war was
going to happen
The claim he made was so he would
appear to have prophet-like powers due
to "the prophetic power of his
subconscious mind."
Dali changed the name of the painting
after the war to prove this prophetic
quality

Sky is turning dark to

show the dark times
people went through

Different brown
tones:
Brown is a
warm color that
represents
appetite in this
case the
appetite for
power and
destruction

Looks like two

people
destroying
each other to
represent the
destruction
during wars.

Skin turning into bones to show people dying

Michele Parliament

Parliament, Michele. Please Stand By

Michele Parliament uses mostly digital

manipulation as her medium and that is
visible in this piece
Most of her pieces are based on
anatomy of humans and few of animals,
but she creates a twist by using
surrealism aspects
In this piece you can see an alliance
being formed between two people of
different parts of the world

Dark clouds
at the top to
show rough
times, but
dark clouds
eventually go
away so its
showing that
the rough
times in life
arent
permanent

Michele Parliament

Holding hands to
represent
protectiveness
and that
countries should
stick together
through dark
times

Parliament, Michele. Please Stand By

Moths are night

animals, and night
animals do not tumble in
the dark, and neither do
humans. Humans use
dreams, and awareness
to get through the
darkest hours of their
lives. Faith is another
thing humans use to get
through dark times and
the moth also shares
this aspect. The moth
never questions
provision.

Ernst

Vs.

Ernst uses a mix

of cool and warm
colors but in
bright manner
He is working
with oil paints.
Ernst created
more of imaginary
looking creatures

Both of these paintings

are based on the
Spanish Civil War.
In both paintings there
is monstrous
creatures.
Theres fighting shown
between creatures to
show the fighting
during wars.
The sky in both is
turning dark to show
rough times during the
Spanish Civil war.
They are both based
on the surrealism
movement.

Dali

Dali uses neutral

colors for the
focus of the
painting
He is working
with acrylic
paints.
Dali created
more of human
like figures.

Ernst

Ernst uses a
combination
colors from
cool to warm
but in bright
manner
For the painting
he is working
with oil paints .
He created
more of actual
surrealist
looking
creatures

Vs.

Parliament

The skies in both are

dark to represent
depressing times
In both theres two
different people
(creatures) connecting
in some sort of way
Both works of art are
inspired by the
surrealism movement

Uses cool colors in

the background
and warm colors in
the main focus of
the digital collage
Her medium for
this work of art is
photoshop
Instead of two
monsters fighting
she did a peaceful
approach between
two people

Dali

Vs.

Dali is showing
the destruction,
death and the
hunger for
power between
people during a
war (The
violence during
war)

Parliament

The sky in both are

kinda cloudy and dark
to show the dark times
during war
Both use cool tones in
the background and
warm tones for the
focus of the piece
The two pieces show
two humans
connecting in some
sort of way
Both are based on the
period of surrealism

Parliament is
showing
protectiveness
by having two
people from
different
countries
holding hands
(Peace after
war)

Ernst, Max. Fireside Angel.

1937

Dali, Salvador. Soft

Parliament, Michele. Please Stand
Construction with Boiled Beans.
By
1936
All three bodies of work show different sides when countries are going through war and through
rough times, they also use different mediums to represent their views on war. Max Ernst shows the
monstrous side of war by having these creatures fight against each other, through an oil painting.
Salvador Dali shows the destruction that goes on between humans, by showing two human like
figures tearing each other apart, through an acrylic painting. Michele Parliament represents the
opposite of both Ernst and Dali, she shows how some countries stick together by the holding of the
hands between two halves of the world, through digital manipulation.

Beautiful Life

Valle, Paula. Beautiful Life.2015

I created this piece of artwork to show

the different sides that are shown during
war
The shadow of a monstrous hand is
shown trying to reach for the world and
destroy it
To represent the destruction that
humans make during war I did the
planet being destroyed by a bullet, since
during war killing is happening through
firearms.
Im trying to show protectiveness by the
human hand that is trying to reach out to
the world and help it

Ernst, Max. Fireside Angel.1937

Dali, Salvador. Soft Construction

With Boiled Beans. 1936

Parliament, Michele. Please

Stand By

I used all three of Ernsts, Dalis and Parliament's artworks as inspiration to create this art piece.
Since all three of them have a different take of war shown in their artworks, I wanted to
incorporate all three of them in one. I showed the monstrous side, the destruction between
humans and the protectiveness side.

Max Ernst

Similarities:

In his painting Ernst shows two monster like figures fighting

each other because he feared of what was going on in
Europe after the Spanish Civil War, to represent this I did a
shadow of a monstrous hand trying to reach for the world
and destroy it more than it already is.
Ernst uses blues, greens and red tones throughout the
painting and I used the same colors throughout my painting.
Red tones symbolize blood, war, danger, power and
determination, Ernst uses these in the creature so its more
subtle in mine I was more straightforward with the meaning
and added blood dripping from the world.
To attract an viewers he used misleading title Fireside
Angel, because the creature shown is the opposite from an
angel and I did the same with my piece Beautiful Life, since
its the opposite from beautiful, instead its showing the
destruction of the world.
Differences:
Ernst show the Spanish Civil War and mine shows wars
throughout the world in general
Ernst=Oil Painting
My work=Watercolor Painting

Salvador Dali
Similarities:

Dalis painting shows two human like figures destroying

each other, and at the bottom theres is pieces of those
bodies. To represent this I did the planet being destroyed
by humans, and I used a bullet to symbolize this, since
during war killing is happening through firearms.
Another way that the planet shows that its in danger and
being destroyed is by the wholes in it creating cracks that
are starting to spread throughout the world.

Differences:

Dalis fighting between humans is more visible while in

mine its being shown through symbolism.
In his work he uses more neutral colors for the main
focus while I use a bit of brighter colors
Dali=Acrylic Painting
My work=Watercolor Painting

Michele Parliament
Similarities:
Parliaments digital piece shows the alliance
between two halves of the world, this is shown
through the holding of the hands. The holding of
the hands also symbolize protectiveness.
In my piece Im trying to show protectiveness by
the human hand that is trying to reach out to the
world and help it from all the dangers.
Differences:
The shadow of the monstrous hand that is trying
to destroy the planet already reached it since
the finger tip is touching the rupture the bullet
made, while the hand that is trying to protect it
hasnt reached it at all. Parliaments just shows
protectiveness and not destruction.
She uses neutral tones while I use cool bright
tones
Parliament=Digital Manipulation
My work=Watercolor Painting