In the 1830s Georges Sand used the technique later named decalcomania to paint landscapes (the branching of decalcomania standing well for the branches of trees) and more abstract compositions. Click the picture for an enlargement in a new window. | ||
Around 1935 rediscovered and named decalcomania. | ||
Dominguez and Boris Margo used paper; Hans Bellmer, Max Ernst, Marcel Jean, Enrico Donati, and Andre Masson used canvas; Max Bucaille used glass. | ||
Dominguez's decalcomanias are Decalcomainas (1936-7), The Lim-Bicycle (1936), The Smoker (1937), and Mars (1956). Bellmer's decalcomanias included The Two Friends. | ||
Perhaps the best-known examples are those of Max Ernst. Ernst used decalcomania to obtain richly-textured images evoking a dream-like quality. | ||
Exampes include Mythological figure - woman (1940), Three well-tempered cypresses (1949), Europe After the Rain (1940-42), and Blue mountain and yellow sky (1959). | ||
Here is a portion of that picture (click to enlarge) and a detail showing more clearly the decalcomania pattern (click to enlarge). | ||
Dominguez's method has an interesting precedent: Alexander Cozzens' method of drawing landscapes, similar to that of Sand.. | ||
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Janson traces Cozzens' inspiration back to da Vinci, who suggested artists can find inspiration by looking at stains on old walls. |
Return to Decalcomania.