Artwork Replica Oedipus Rex, 1922 by Max Ernst (Inspired By) (1891-1976, Germany) | WahooArt.com

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"Oedipus Rex"

Max Ernst (i) - Oil On Canvas (i) - 93 x 102 cm - 1922 - Surrealism (i)
Oedipus Rex is a reference to Sigmund Freud’s famous psychoanalytic theory of Oedipus Complex which describes an individual’s relationship with their sexual desires, noting that we fear what we wish and we desire what we fear. The painting has intense sexual references, the first that we notice is the hand that extends from a window on a brick wall, it holds a walnut which symbolizes the female body and the crack symbolizes the vulva, and a bow and arrow that pierces through the hand and the nut. This conveys the patriarchal system in which sex operates, thecrushing of the nut implies sado-masochistic roles, the arrow may be a phallic symbol or one of love or lack thereof within the realm of sex. There are also two birds in a box, and we see only their heads, one with horns is tethered, showing the social restrictions on aberrant sexuality. The domination over the walnut accompanies the spike which pieces the hand, and when it is forced open, it can shut quickly and injure the finger, signifying neurotic sexual attachment. Max Ernst portrays the condition of women in his other works as well.

 





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