The Message of the Forest

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The National Gallery of Modern Art (Scotland).

The power of nature in the human world is a repetitive theme in the works of M. Toyen. She repeatedly focuses on dreamy landscapes, where lonely girls, birds, and fragmentary figures are represented. Interest in these topics was induced by illustrations, which the artist made for children’s books, but soon acquired a more strange and even sinister look. Toyen tried not to explain this work, letting viewers explore its symbolic meaning on their own. Like many surrealists, Toyen was very interested in the writings of Freud, where reality and the works read influenced dreams and nightmares, offering people a world of intense anxiety.