Door to Door

Artists, authors and associated movements are often credited with laying foundations, paving ways… and also opening doors. Tate Liverpool is about to open its portals to Wonderland in a new exhibition which will show how Lewis Carroll’s timeless creation threw open the doors for subsequent generations to experiment with the imaginative, the surreal and the absurd.  Amongst the artists who were influenced by Alice et al was Magritte, whose work up until recently was also being shown at the same Tate. (Unfortunately the white rabbits amongst you are “too late, too late” for that one, but you can read all about it here.)

To stick with the door theme whilst it is still on its hinges, here are two pics, one from our collection of Sir John Tenniel prints and one from our recently acquired set of Magritte prints.  

In this original wood engraving, Alice draws back the curtain, revealing the tiny door which is about to lead her to a world of wonderful weirdness.  We are still on the side of normality.

In this Magritte, we have crossed the threshold and are fully immersed in the surreal. Visual contradictions are overlaid one on top of the other, displaying the kind of paradoxes and games which we also find in Carroll’s storytelling. Here, the curtain is already drawn; the door is wide open; and we see a crescent moon perched on a candlestick. Or perhaps it’s the smile of the elusive Cheshire cat, dropping in to say hello.

                                                                                                    To see more of our Tenniel illustrations for Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass 

          go this way 

                            For more Magritte 

                                       go that way