The Savage Eye
Exhibition
In this illuminating exhibition you will become familiar with two radical art movements that both explored the psyche with the aim of establishing a new concept of humanity. Through artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Paul Gauguin, Dora Maar, René Magritte, Lee Miller, Joan Miró, Odilon Redon, and Auguste Rodin we will take you on a journey through the limitless world of the unconscious.
Symbolism as a movement in literature and the visual arts emerged in the 1880s. Influenced by the contemporary interest in spirituality and psychology, Symbolist artists rejected naturalistic depictions of the real world and instead turned their attention towards a world of spirituality and dreams. Some decades later, in 1924, the French poet André Breton wrote his Manifesto of Surrealism, in which he argued that art should transform society by uniting the worlds of dreams and reality. In order to succeed, the artists should free themselves from rational and moral concerns and seek to tap into the revolutionary power of the unconscious mind.
Through various thematic perspectives and a range of media, this landmark exhibition will shed new light on the history of Surrealism. With the idea of the unconscious as a turning point, The Savage Eye traces the roots of Surrealism in Symbolism and shows how the two art movements both reflect each other and overlap. Some of the most significant artists in modern art meet here in the murky depths of the human mind, where logic and morality give way to dreams, disturbing impulses, and unbridled desire.
Key works

Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) Metamorphosis of Narcissus, 1937 Oil on canvas, 51.1 × 78.1 cm Tate. Purchased 1979, T02343 Photo: Tate; © Salvador Dalí, Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation/BONO 2022

Odilon Redon (1840–1916) Closed Eyes, 1890 Oil on canvas, 44 × 36 cm Musée d’Orsay, Paris, RF 2791 Photo: © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay)/Hervé Lewandowski

Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978) The Uncertainty of the Poet, 1913 Oil on canvas, 106 × 94 cm Tate. Purchased with assistance from the Art Fund (Eugene Cremetti Fund), the Carroll Donner Bequest, the Friends of the Tate Gallery and members of the public, 1985, T04109 Photo: Tate; © Giorgio de Chirico/BONO 2022

Edvard Munch: The Hands. Oil and crayon on unprimed canvas, 1893-94. Foto © Munchmuseet

René Magritte (1898–1967) Pleasure, 1927 Oil on canvas, 73.5 × 98 cm Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 1092 Photo: © bpk-Bildagentur/Stiftung Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen/Walter Klein; © René Magritte/BONO 2022

Joan Miró (1893–1983) Painting, 1927 Oil and tempera on canvas, 97.2 × 130.2 cm Tate. Purchased with assistance from the Friends of the Tate Gallery, 1971, T01318 Photo: Tate; © Successió Miró/BONO 2022
Max Ernst (1891–1976) Untitled. Illustration for cover of Paul Éluard’s collection of poems Répétitions (1921), 1921 Collage and gouache on paper, 70 × 90 mm Private collection Photo: Florent Chevrot; © Max Ernst/BONO 2022

Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) Harvest: Le Pouldu, 1890 Oil on canvas, 73 × 92.1 cm Tate. Accepted by HM Government in lieu of tax and allocated to the Tate Gallery, 1966, T00895 Photo: Tate
Video introduction
Made by MUNCH in collaboration with Process Films © Munchmuseet
Photos from the exhibition



















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Project Team
Curator: Lars Toft-Eriksen
Assistant Curator: Emil Leth Meilvang
Concept Developer Learning: Nikita Mathias
Project Manager: Mathis Junker Gran
Text Editor: Hanna Hille Stoltenberg
Registrars: Margrete Molid Kvæl, Tiril Krabbesund
Installation registrars: Tine Schmidt Haislund, Adriane Solberg, Patricia Tveter, Charlotte Bouchard-Lafond, Una Hamilton Helle
Head of Marketing: Tone Brunner
Technical Manager: Lasse A. Baklien
Technical Producer: Benny André Lund
AV Consultant: Karl Richard Alexandersson
Chief Light Technician: Tara Fox
Art Technician Management: Johan Øvergård & Timothy Brignall
Art Technicians: Michelle Bonnefoy, Matthias Förster, Tomas Einarsson, Maren Reese, Calle Segelberg, Jonas Greni, Marius Mathisrud, Steffen Sætereie, Andrea Galiazzo, Eskil Bast, Maarten Sleeuwits
Painting Conservators: Inger Barbara Grimstad, Jin Strand Ferrer, Mie Mustad, Lina Wulff Flogstad
Paper Conservators: Gry Landro, Emma Chan, Magdalena Godzimirska, Marthe Aambø
Sculpture Conservator: Joanna Hench, Mari Bjørge
Security: Marie Kristine Skorstad
Photo: Ove KvavikVoice for Sound Production :
Petronella BarkerResearch Advisors:
Professor emeritus David Lomas, University of Manchester
Førsteamanuensis Allison Morehead, Queen's University
Professor Gavin Parkinson, Courtauld Institute of Art -
Design & Architecture
Exhibition Design: neo.studio neumann schneider architekten PartG mbB, Berlin
Graphic Design: neo.studio neumann schneider architekten PartG mbB, Berlin
Light Design: Erik Hedin, Zenisk