The Failure of Surrealism

[Music] surrealism failed and nobody portrayed this failure better than Max Ernst did how exactly did surrealism fail well we'd have to look at the different goals surrealism sought to achieve the goal of popularizing the exploration of the subconscious mind through for example art which depicts dreams or fantasies is one which they have now become the most famous for but what about their revolutionary goals transformed the world said Marx change life cedarampo these two goals make only one for us this quote is speaking for surrealists there's no doubts about the strong connections between surrealism and communism and more broadly between surrealism and revolution take for example the surrealist publication the surrealist Revolution published between 1924 and 1929 and even more explicitly surrealism in the surface of the Revolution published between 1933 and 1939 of course not every single surrealist was a revolutionary leftist as exemplified by salvadori however in my video on Dali and fascism I bring up the trial organized by Burton and the surrealists against Dali's fascism surrealists were profoundly anti-fascists not only because they were Communists but because they wholeheartedly defended Freedom especially artistic Freedom something fascists clearly opposed as demonstrated by the degenerate art exhibition which I also made a video about now what does this have to do with this 1937 painting by Max Ernst it's what we're about to find out thank you so much to all my new patrons this week for a dollar or more per month you'll be featured at the end of each of my videos that's 25 cents per video or 12 dollars per year it helps out a lot thanks there's something extremely compelling about this painting I featured it twice in two different videos this month this week I did a stream with another art history YouTuber Polly blank we had to pick a painting from a randomly generated artist and had chat vote on the one they preferred it was a lot of fun and the videos on my second Channel where I post segments from my streams but more importantly when Max Ernst was randomly selected this happened God please let it be someone I know I'm so glad we got what though Max Ernst oh the um surrealist oh I know I picked I picked I already picked I also picked I hope we didn't pick the same one okay at the end it to you hey did you think the same thing [Laughter] we did yeah yeah we did okay repeat oh no this is my favorite okay we pick again God damn it I'm not surprised though because this is the investors just it's uh the subject of my next video on Sunday it's that one really kind of excited to show it yeah I was like hoping it would win I guess we can't pick that one its original title is the Fireside Angel and it's an incredibly startling image in a deserted plane covered by a cloudy Sky a giant Beast seems to be either dancing or stomping with closer inspection it seems to be in pain its body appearing as an amalgamation of Limbs stretching and compressing around it its sharp claws and teeth make it look menacing the spikes underneath its elevated feet threatens the plane with some disastrously violent trampling its eyes are closed and we don't know if it can open them and see we don't even know if it can hear itself here at the potential streaks coming out of its monstrous mouth in any case it seems angry and in pain [Music] but this description doesn't really fit with the idea of an Angel which Ernst Associates with it through the title here's what Ernst had to say about it it's evidently an ironic title to designate some sort of animal which destroys and annihilates everything on its path it was the impression I had at the time of what was going to happen in the world and I was right Ernst didn't often depict political themes in his paintings he's certainly not known for that but this painting is in his words about the state of the world in 1937. this is a painting I made after the defeat of the Spanish Republicans this is a reference to the Spanish Civil War of 1936 which would see the Democrats Republicans socialists and anarchists fight against the fascists backed by Hitler's Germany and to miss Italy it's in that context that the famous Miro garnica was created and I've also had an interview about it with a John Hopkins professor in my was Dahlia fascist video all of this being said the Spanish Civil War was to many a prefiguration of what was to come with the rise of fascism in Europe fascism is the sort of animal which destroys and annihilates it's the one Ernst warned people against by depicting it as an incoherent monster one which multiplies and marches on but why call it the Fireside angel there's an irony to the title obviously as this isn't an angel but more importantly Ernst gave it a second title in 1938 one which became more of a statement and which would become this painting's most famous title the Triumph of surrealism looking at this painting through its second title the meaning of this painting for Ernst is made more clear this isn't only a vague criticism of fascism which could only be understood through its context or through the words of the artist this becomes an explicit statement on surrealism now what does this statement mean it could mean the actual Triumph of surrealism recognizing its popularity and the fact that it was starting to take more and more space with different artists from all around the world coming together to create this Frankenstein of a movement however we can look at this title as a critique of surrealism as I believe it is the title is ironic as Ernst himself said this isn't a Triumph it's on the contrary of failure Ernst denounces the failure of what surrealism promised the Revolutionary movement that was to transform the world and change life failed in 1937 Max ernst's Works were featured in the degenerate art exhibition Franco's fascists started and were winning a civil war fascism was on the rise and nobody seemed to be able to stop it not only did surrealism fail to transform the world it failed in the midst of fascists transforming it this new title according to art history Professor um schneid is a despairing reference to the fact that the surrealists with their communist ideas had been unable to do anything to resist fascism only a year after changing the title of his painting Ernst was jailed by fascists he'd get out then would be recaptured by the Gestapo from which he escaped to New York with the help of Peggy Guggenheim who he'd later marry this painting isn't only about the failure of surrealism but it's also about the impending and violent threat of fascism Max Ernst saw it he depicted it he denounced it as it was progressively consolidating more and more power and increasingly putting people's safety and Liberty at risk I feel like there might be something about this monster that should again today speak to us we should be able to recognize that monster the one that confiscated ernst's paintings the one that jailed Ernst the One Max Ernst painted less than a century ago [Music] thank you so much for watching thank you Axel Mike wax Roman brandle X towns and all my other patrons for supporting the channel if you also want to help out leave a like subscribe and check out patreon.com [Music] foreign

Channel: The Canvas

Views: 186,972

Keywords: documentary, painting, analysis, meaning, explained, Art, History, Art History, The Canvas, Canvas, Artist, max ernst, the fireside angel, surrealism, surrealist, the triumph of surrealism, max ernst the triumph of surrealism, the triumph of surrealism max ernst, max ernst surrealism

Id: Q-MWNGzsNRI

Length: 10min 19sec (619 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 17 2023