Andre Breton’s surrealist manifesto highlights
the importance of dreams and the freedom of imagination. He states that
imagination has an “unsparing quality” and compares it with the thought process
of those who are insane. Society is bound by a set of rules and
Breton explains how one can experience the pleasures of life only when he
breaks loose from all these rules. Breton was fascinated by Sigmund Freud’s
work on psychoanalysis and many artists from the surrealist movement including Ernst
often used his ideas in their work. Freud gave importance to the unconscious
mind, which is why many surreal artworks appear to be dreamlike and ambiguous. According
to Pierre Reverdy, a strong image forms when two or more juxtaposed realities
come together. The more distant the realities are, the stronger the image will
be.
Breton published his manifesto in 1924, while
Ernst finished the Pietà in 1923. As it is a very early example of surrealism,
the composition does not have elements that strongly juxtapose each other. However,
Ernst has played with the viewer’s mind by taking a concept from early
Christian art and giving it a Freudian twist. The title of the painting Pietà comes from biblical imagery where the
Virgin Mary is seen cradling the dead body of Jesus. In Ernst’s painting,
instead of his mother, he is seen in the arms of his father.
Ernst converted religious iconography into a
psychoanalytic narration of the Oedipus complex. This complex denotes the
rivalry between a father and a son for the love of the mother. Traces of this
theory can be seen in other works by Ernst such as Oedipus Rex and Aquis
Submersus. In
Oedipus Rex, Ernst provides a
condensation of sexual imagery with the nut representing the mother. In Aquis Submersus, we see the father
represented as a shooting target, signifying the brutal rivalry between the
father and the son. In both Pietà and Aquis Submersus, Ernst has painted his father in dull colours and
he appears to be sporting a moustache. The physical resemblances between the
two works are unlikely to be by chance.
Although the nature of relationship Ernst had with his
mother is uncertain, it is quite well known that he did have conflicts with his
father. The man in the painting can be identified as Ernst’s
father, Philippe, due to his moustache. Ernst’s father was a devout
catholic teacher. He found Ernst to be unconventional and criticized him for
that.
Ernst’s choice of Pietà as
a subject matter seemed very fitting seeing as how his father was a Christian
teacher and an amateur painter (Gale, 1997). Those who had traditional values
like Philippe, admired artists like Michelangelo, who dedicated their artwork
to the Christian church. The image of Philippe bears a resemblance to the
strict character in Giorgio de Chirico’s painting, The Child’s Brain. Ernst painted himself with a grey lifeless
colour which makes him look petrified and the form of his head looks like it
was a part of a Greek statue. This gives an image of a domineering father who
turned his son into stone by holding him back and demanding him to live a
conservative life.
The petrified look resembles the stiff posture of
patients with catatonic schizophrenia. This connects his painting
to surrealism even more as one of the common themes of surrealist art is
insanity. The shirt worn by Ernst is similar to a white asylum
uniform. Ernst often used unique catatonic poses and movements in his paintings.
Other than the Pietà, he has also used it in his famous
piece Au Rendez-vous des Amis. While
Ernst holds an awkward position in the Pietà, Rendez-vous des Amis shows many people
either holding a catatonic pose or repeating an action over and over again,
which is another symptom of catatonic schizophrenia. Ernst might have gotten
his inspiration for painting these figures after seeing the pictures of some
schizophrenic patients from Emil Kraepelin’s publication, Dementia Praecox.
Another theme that was often used in surrealism was
dreaming. The title of the painting: Pietà or
Revolution by Night hints at a nocturnal activity and the act of dreaming is
usally associated with the night. According to Freud, dreams have some very
strong connections to the unconscious mind. The whole composition has a
dreamlike setting as it is segmented and forms no logical unity. For
representing different people in the painting, Ernst has used different
techniques. His painter father, has been portrayed wearing monochrome formal
attire, and conventional colour shading has been done while painting to give
him a realistic look. On the other hand, Ernst looks two
dimensional due to his selective use of colour and abstraction. The third man
in the painting has been created using yet another style. It is hard to tell
whether he is supposed to be an actual character from the narration of the
painting or just a wall drawing, as Ernst has only drawn a dark outline of him.
The identity of the third figure is debatable. It may be an illustration of
Freud, but looking at the bandage on his head, it may even be a war veteran
injured during the First World War. The bandage may also refer to the story
behind the Oedipus complex.
The Oedipus complex derived from a Greek myth about
King Oedipus. Through a series of unfortunate events Oedipus ended up killing
his father, Laius, and marrying his mother, Jocasta. It was later revealed to
everyone what Oedipus had done unknowingly. In shame, Jocasta hanged herself to
death and Oedipus blinded himself. The bandage on the third man’s head can
allude to a son turning blind as a punishment for desiring his mother.
Surrealism was all about turning off the conscious
world. Our dreams often reflect our daily lives. That is why it is so hard to
distinguish between dreaming and moments of waking. Ernst came up with this
composition by fusing his troubled childhood memories and dreams with a
Freudian explanation for them. His detestation for his father
clearly stands out in his paintings. We also get a glimpse of his concern over
gaining the approval and respect from his father. Although the two men imitate the
Virgin Mary and Jesus, their expressions look nothing like the religious
figures. While as a mother, the Madonna shows her emotions and attachment to
her son through tears, Ernst’s father pulls a face of indifference and tedium.
According to Freudian theory of psychoanalysis, the only successful resolution
of the Oedipus complex can come when the son identifies with his father. As
Ernst was not able to do this, he was unable to recover from his psychological
sufferings.
Ernst was dissatisfied with his father. But due to
“castration anxiety”, he was unable to take any action on it. In
psychoanalysis, the fear of castration is a metaphor that helps maintain the
balance of power in families. This symbolic castration creates an unconscious
fear in the mind of the son of being degraded or dominated by his father. As a
result, he stores away any rebellious thought in the unconscious part of his
mind.
Another reason for a son to repress his conflicting
feelings would be the fear of society. Incestuous behavior is taboo, so in
order to fit into society, a son must repress any kind of desire he might have
for his mother. The blue and white shower head attached to the wall in the
painting can represent water that one uses to cleanse oneself. Figuratively
speaking, this cleansing provides the removal of any inappropriate thoughts
that the son might have. Once again Ernst has used Christian imagery connecting
the composition to the act of baptism. Christians use baptism to cleanse
themselves of any impurities or sins. Perhaps the son in the composition is
also trying to use water to cleanse any impure or violent thoughts he might
have regarding his parents.
Max
Ernst’s Pietà is an exceptional piece of early surrealist artwork.
Taking Breton’s Manifesto into account, Ernst projects his imagination on to
the canvas paying close attention to the Freudian theory of psychoanalysis. The
composition evokes an idea of the subconscious mind and dreaming, both are
themes that have been used repetitively in the surrealist movement. The Pietà reflects the intellectual and
emotional concerns of the artist regarding his relationship with his father.
Due to the conflict with his father, Ernst chose to portray a narrative using
the Freudian Oedipus complex. This theme appears constantly throughout many of
Ernst’s work. The artist’s feelings and Freud’s theory go well together because
they both revolve around the rivalry and tension between a father and his son.
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