Bella Muerte is a collection of works that explore the beauty of death through the eyes of surrealist artists. Death is beautiful, even in its most abhorrent forms their is a poetic nature that Death cannot escape.
Jondo singing, JULIO ROMERO DE TORRES, 1923 - 1924, From the collection of: Museo Julio Romero de Torres
Julio Romero de Torres uses his skills to create this beautiful work entitled: Jondo Singing. The piece is a visual representation of all that is Flamenco: happiness, love, pain, jealousy, and (of course) Death.
Featured here is Frida Kahlo's Portrait of Luther Burbank. Ms. Kahlo's portrait of Luther Burbank is a strong representation of the Circle of Life. The beauty of death is inherent in the cycle as it gives new life-- much like the corpse feeding the tree and the tree feeding the man.
The sower, James Gleeson, 1944, From the collection of: Art Gallery of New South Wales
The sower by James Gleeson is a hauntingly beautiful painting used to represent the horrors of war. Influenced by Millet's Sower, Gleeson sows seeds of war instead of fertility. The painting depicts a bleak world torn apart by war, one of Death's greatest vessels.
Death of Sergeant Kennedy at Stringybark Creek-Ned Kelly Series, Sidney NOLAN, 1946, From the collection of: National Gallery of Australia
Closeness to death is uncomfortable for most. Sidney Nolan uses this by putting her subject matter in close proximity to one another. Forget the landscape, forget the sky. A man has killed one of his fellow man-- this is that is important.
Spain, James GLEESON, 1951, From the collection of: National Gallery of Australia
James Gleeson's Spain is a good representation of his works after being influenced by the "greats" of the Western World. The man can be seen as mortality and closeness to God as seen in the Sistine Chapel; the woman as an amalgamation of man's greed and the lifelessness that comes with it.
Priase the War, Ahn, Chang Hong, 안창홍, 1989, From the collection of: Korean Art Museum Association
War is an ugly thing. Ahn Chang Hong builds this figure of death out of societal advancements and hoists its arm in triumphant glory, over a desolate landscape. The only real winner in war is Death, standing victorious over all.
Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite surrealists because she often uses herself as the subject matter. In her later years Frida had become sick as depicted in the painting "blanketed" by germs, she could only eat certain things, unable to gain weight, and saw this as her hopeless end as the sun sets on her life.
Whakapapa Birth & Death, Robyn Kahukiwa, 2005, From the collection of: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Whakapapa Birth & Death looks to reincarnation. Robyn Kahukiwa paints a beautiful picture that represents the continuous cycle of life, that instead of fearing death celebrates it as a part of a never ending cycle.
Death, that old beggar, also used to animate soirées with its long speeches, Belzunegui Martínez, Juan Antonio, 2006/2006, From the collection of: Universidad Pública de Navarra
Engaged in Combat, Prateep Kochabua, 2012, From the collection of: Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA BANGKOK)
Man, Animal, God, and Demon all run amuck Engaged in Combat by Prateep Kochabua. Thai culture is rich with fantastic elements but even Gods and Demons cannot escape death. It is the one constant-- we all die.
Two-Dimensional Village, Somphong Adulyasarapan, 2013, From the collection of: Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA BANGKOK)
The last painting in this gallery ends on a more positive note. The last look at death comes at the between stages of Death and Life. Here is the next step in the journey after death before coming to join the living once again.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
