Méret Oppenheim

Art Appreciation 

Surrealist artist and photographer, Méret Elisabeth Oppenheim was born on October 6, 1913 in Berlin. 

Although born in German, she grew up in Delémont, Switzerland, which borders France. At a young age, she was exposed to different artworks that included French Impressionism, German Expressionism, Modernism, Fauvism, and Cubism. 

Her father introduced Oppenheim to the writings of founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung, at the age of 15. She was more so influenced by Jung's animus-anima theory--the contra-sexual aspect of a person's psyche--which is becomes apparent in many of her work throughout the years. At one point, she renounced the term "feminine art" and adopted Jung's ideal androgynous creativity.  

At the age of 18, Oppenheim moved to Paris and attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière to study painting. While in Paris, she was invited by Hans Arp and Alberto Giacometti to participate in the Surrealist exhibition in the “Salon des Surindépendants." Soon after, she surrounded herself with other Surrealist artists like Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Andre Breton. 

She experimented with "veristic surrealism," which portrays the dreamworld in rich detail. Partly influenced by Jung, Oppenheim used painting and her dreams as an "analogy to the subconsciousness' forms."  

Self-portrait, skull and ornament, 1964

Glove, 1985

Fur-covered cup, saucer, and spoon, 1936

Source: 

Wikipedia

https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/meret-oppenheim-object-paris-1936/

https://nmwa.org/exhibitions/meret-oppenheim/