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Lot Essay
The Wall is one of Man Ray's most intriguing and enigmatic Surrealist paintings. It depicts the shadow of a man chasing a woman, their stark silhouettes cast against the surface of a brick or stone wall. A large, attenuated hand emerges from behind the wall, holding a small ball between its thumb and forefinger, while a cloud hovering overhead echoes the angular shapes within the image. The painting is completed with the scaffolding of a metal tower in the background at the far left. Simple though these elements may appear, they impart a curiously foreboding air. This is caused by a variety of elements; the tower takes on the appearance of a sentry lookout, a structure that might be associated with a prison, a reading reinforced by the imposing stone wall; the cloud is darkened on its underside, implying that a storm is fast approaching; and the male figure stretches its hand out in an attempt to capture the escaping female, just as a predator might leap forward in an effort to seize its prey.
All of these elements take on an added significance when one considers that this painting was executed in Paris in 1938, not only during the height of Surrealist activities but also on the eve of a devastating conflict that all of Europe had come to believe was inevitable. Of course, there is the possibility that the symbolism of this painting was intended to be far more personal, meant to represent Man Ray's seemingly endless pursuit of the ideal female partner in life. If this interpretation is accepted, the threatening atmosphere that exists in this painting might imply that, after having lost his partner Lee Miller some eight years earlier, at the age of 48, Man Ray harboured a somewhat pessimistic opinion of his potential to find the woman of his dreams.
We are grateful to Francis M. Naumann for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.
All of these elements take on an added significance when one considers that this painting was executed in Paris in 1938, not only during the height of Surrealist activities but also on the eve of a devastating conflict that all of Europe had come to believe was inevitable. Of course, there is the possibility that the symbolism of this painting was intended to be far more personal, meant to represent Man Ray's seemingly endless pursuit of the ideal female partner in life. If this interpretation is accepted, the threatening atmosphere that exists in this painting might imply that, after having lost his partner Lee Miller some eight years earlier, at the age of 48, Man Ray harboured a somewhat pessimistic opinion of his potential to find the woman of his dreams.
We are grateful to Francis M. Naumann for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.