A visit to the Art Institute of Chicago always leaves me amazed by how many treasures are in the art collection.
Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" (1942) is one of the most recognizable and iconic paintings in American art and is one of the most visited artworks in the museum.
About Nighthawks, Edward Hopper recollected, “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.” In an all-night diner, three customers sit at the counter opposite a server, each appear to be lost in thought and disengaged from one another. The composition is tightly organized and spare in details: there is no entrance to the establishment, no debris on the streets. Through harmonious geometric forms and the glow of the diner’s electric lighting, Hopper created a serene, beautiful, yet enigmatic scene. Although inspired by a restaurant Hopper had seen on Greenwich Avenue in New York, the painting is not a realistic transcription of an actual place. As viewers, we are left to wonder about the figures, their relationships, and this imagined world.
Art Institute of Chicago
After the painting was completed in January 1942, it was sold to The Art Institute of Chicago for $3000 and has remained there ever since.
The museum has paintings by some of the best known surrealist artists that are recognizable due to their unique, non-rational qualities,. They present a world that is meticulously detailed but makes no rational sense,
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) was a flamboyant Spanish artist and a central figure of the Surrealist movement
This photo is of "A Chemist Lifting with Extreme Precaution the Cuticle of a Grand Piano" (1936) by the Spanish Surrealist master, Salvador Dalí.
The entire scene is a carefully crafted assemblage of disparate, seemingly illogical elements, designed to "systematize confusion" and discredit the world of logical reality—a core goal of Surrealism.
René Magritte (1898–1967) was a Belgian Surrealist artist
Magritte was a genius at using realistic technique and creating an illogical, dreamlike scene.
Time Transfixed (1938) by René Magritte
This painting is an example of Magritte's technique, where he has painted a perfectly realistic interior scene and then introduces a completely impossible element —a steam locomotive—emerging from the fireplace.
Photo of a woman intently viewing 'On the Threshold of Liberty' by René Magritte.at the Art Institute of Chicago.
photos taken at the Museum are from my family albums
Hope you enjoyed seeing the paintings!
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