Decalcomania 1940

Enrico Donati made this decalcomania, or transfer painting, using black gouache on paper. Donati, an Italian-American Surrealist, made this work in the middle of the twentieth century. The Surrealists were interested in chance and the unconscious, as ways of freeing the imagination from the constraints of reason and social convention. Decalcomania, pioneered by artists like Oscar Dominguez, became a key part of the Surrealist toolkit because it automated the creation of imagery. By pressing paint between two surfaces, then peeling them apart, an artist could relinquish control and let surprising, unexpected forms emerge. We can see how these automatic techniques helped the Surrealists reflect on the anxieties of their time, from the rise of Fascism to the threat of nuclear war. To fully appreciate their work, we need to consider the political and cultural context in which it was made.