Surrealist Painters of the 1940sBy: Natalie Murphy

Meanings Behind the PaintingsThroughout the centuries, artists have created paintings that are pleasing to the eye. There is meaning behind the existential colors.The reason of the subject.The reason of the color choices.The story behind the painting.Personal relation with the artist who painted it.

The Time Period: WWIIDuring the 1940s, much was happening all around the globe. -WWII was currently taking place. -This influenced the artists subjects, colors, and reason for painting.Some other events that were occurring during the 1940s -The first transmission of FM radio with clear, static-free signal-Italian Art Masterpiece exhibit opening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York-Many multicultural books/movies were being published

The Styles of PaintingsThe styles of paintings in the 1940s were academic, surrealistic, abstract, and primitive.They document a country at war.Surrealism is a style in which fantastical visual imagery from the subconscious mind is used with no intention of making the work logically comprehensible.The Surrealist group was formed in Paris in Oct. of 1924, among them were: ErnstMiro MassonDeeply affected by the tragedies and turmoil of World War I, the artists were looking for an escape as well as a reform of the existing art world.

Freud also exerted a strong influence: to tap the creative and imaginative mind in the unconscious.

The Artists

Pablo PicassoPicasso took many risks in his life. The Nazis said that sculptors could not use bronze to create statues with after they had captured Paris.He still used bronze after one of his close friends commented to him that plastic was temporary and bronze forever.Picasso's palette grew somber with the onset of World War II (1939-1945), and death is the subject of numerous works, such as Still Life with Steer's Skull and The Charnel House. He formed a new liaison during the 1940s with the painter Franoise Gilot who bore him two children, Claude and Paloma; they appear in many works that recapture his earlier styles. The last of Picasso's companions to be portrayed was Jacqueline Roque, whom he met in 1953 and married in 1961. He then spent much of his time in southern France.

Salvador DaliDali claimed that his images were dream sequences or inspired by his subconscious.To evade World War II, Dali chose the U.S.A. as his permanent residence in 1940. He had a series of spectacular exhibitions, among others a great retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Besides creating a number of great paintings, Dali caused the attention of the media by playing the role of a surrealist clown. He made a lot of money and was contemptuously nicknamed Avida Dollars (greedy for dollars) by Andre Breton.

Norman RockwellIn 1942, Rockwell painted one of his most overtly political and important pieces. In response to a speech given by President Franklin Roosevelt, Rockwell made a series of paintings that dealt with the Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.Throughout the mid-1940s these paintings traveled around the country being shown in conjunction with the sale of bonds. Viewed by more than a million people, their popularity was considered an important part of the war effort at home. During the late 1940s and 1950s Rockwell continued as one of the most prolific and recognized illustrators in the country. While his allegiance to the Saturday evening Post remained, he produced work for other magazines including Ladies Home Journal, McCalls, Literary Digest, and Look.