Bateau Bleu (The Grotto)

Although Dorothea Tanning was frequently overshadowed by her husband and fellow artist Max Ernst, she forged her own impressive artistic career throughout the 20th century. Upon visiting an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tanning discovered her fascination with Surrealist art. Her Surrealist aesthetic is exemplified in this dream-like image of a semi-abstracted female figure who holds up a large pocket watch in her left hand. She stands upon a boat that transports her through a sea of crashing waves inside of a dark grotto. Tanning portrayed a world that seems peaceful yet haunting. At the lower right, a bird nest cradling five eggs rests atop a wooden board that moves calmly along the rolling waves; on the boat’s bow, an eye with two irises eerily confronts the viewer. In an interview, Tanning remarked that she hoped to produce “an event or an enigma… the boat, the waves and the timepiece can take you anywhere you want to go…”