Probably one of Kahlo’s more complex self-portraits, The Two Fridas is full of the usual symbolism and personal references typical of the Mexican Surrealist’s work. The piece was painted at the time of Kahlo’s divorce from her artist husband Diego Rivera. Clicking here will take you to ‘The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo’, where you can examine the painting section by section.

Salvador Dalí, Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion, 1954

After The Persistence of Memory in 1931, the ‘soft watch’ became a major image in Dalí’s work. However here, the theme of time is not only interrupted by the clock’s melting state; the explosion of the clock’s surface creates a more sudden and definitive destruction.

Alberto Giacometti, City Square, 1948

Marc Chagall, Exodus, 1952-66

Rene Magritte, The Interpretaton of Dreams, c.1930

This six sectioned piece by Belgian Surrealist Rene Magritte looks at word and object association and how the logic behind these connections can get lost when the subconscious or unconscious takes over. The words beneath the items translate from left to right as ‘the acacia’, ‘the moon’, ‘the snow’, ‘the ceiling’, ‘the storm’ and ‘the desert’, though the items above the words obviously do not clearly match up!

Yves Tanguy, Construct and Destroy, 1940