Meret Oppenheim was one of the most influential and original artists of the 20th century. She was a pioneer of Surrealism, a movement that challenged the conventional boundaries of art and reality. She is best known for her fur-covered teacup, saucer, and spoon, which became an emblem of the Surrealist movement and a symbol of female creativity. But how did Meret Oppenheim die, and what was her impact on the art world?
Early Life and Career
Meret Oppenheim was born on October 6, 1913, in Berlin, Germany. Her father was a German-Jewish doctor, and her mother was a Swiss painter. In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, the family moved to Switzerland, where Oppenheim grew up in a creative and supportive environment. She was encouraged by her father and her maternal grandmother, who was an author and illustrator, to pursue art.
In 1929, she began art studies at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, where she was exposed to the works of Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and other modernist artists. She also developed an interest in the writings of Carl Jung, whose theories of the unconscious and the archetypes influenced her artistic vision.
In 1932, she moved to Paris, where she met and befriended some of the leading figures of the Surrealist movement, such as Alberto Giacometti, Hans Arp, Man Ray, André Breton, and Max Ernst. She became a muse and a model for Man Ray, who photographed her nude behind a printing-press wheel, creating a striking image of eroticism and mystery. She also had a brief affair with Ernst, who introduced her to collage and assemblage techniques.
In 1933, she participated in her first Surrealist exhibition, where she showed three paintings. She quickly gained recognition for her innovative and provocative works, which combined everyday objects with unexpected materials, such as fur, feathers, shells, and bones. She explored themes of sexuality, identity, nature, and fantasy, often with a touch of humor and irony.
Her most famous work, Object (1936), also known as Breakfast in Fur, was created when she was only 23 years old. It was inspired by a conversation she had with Picasso and Dora Maar at a café, where they remarked that anything could be covered with fur. She then bought a teacup, saucer, and spoon from a department store and glued fur to them. The result was a startling and surreal object that challenged the notions of taste, function, and beauty. The work was exhibited at the first international exhibition of Surrealism in London in 1936, and later acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it became one of the most celebrated and controversial works of modern art.
Crisis and Comeback
Despite her success and fame, Oppenheim felt dissatisfied and alienated by the Surrealist movement, which she felt was dominated by male artists and critics who imposed their own interpretations and expectations on her work. She also struggled with depression, anxiety, and self-doubt, which led her to stop making art for almost two decades. She later described this period as a “crisis” and a “hibernation”.
In the 1950s, she gradually resumed her artistic activity, experimenting with new media and forms, such as painting, sculpture, jewelry, poetry, and performance. She also revisited some of her earlier themes and motifs, such as the fur, the spiral, and the snake. She became interested in the myths and rituals of different cultures, especially the Native American and the Celtic traditions, which she incorporated into her works.
In the 1960s and 1970s, she gained a new recognition and appreciation from the younger generation of artists and critics, who saw her as a precursor and an inspiration for the feminist, conceptual, and environmental art movements. She participated in several exhibitions and retrospectives, and received several awards and honors, such as the Art Award of the City of Basel in 1975.
Meret Oppenheim Cause of Death
Meret Oppenheim died on November 15, 1985, in Basel, Switzerland, at the age of 72. The cause of death was a heart attack, according to Britannica. She had been working on a large-scale installation for the Swiss National Exhibition, which was completed posthumously and displayed in 1986.
Meret Oppenheim left behind a rich and diverse body of work, which continues to fascinate and challenge viewers and artists alike. She is widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th century, and a pioneer of Surrealism and feminist art. She once said, “Freedom is not given to you – you have to take it.” She certainly did, and in doing so, she opened new possibilities and perspectives for art and life.
