Le déjeuner en Fourrure

Meret Oppenheim was a surrealist artist, and she created this work in 1936. She found the idea from a conversation with Pablo Picasso about her fur covered bracelet. He stated that one could cover anything in fur, and she said "Even this cup and saucer".
She created it using a low quality cup, plate, and spoon covered in luxurious gazelle fur. It is a paradox of cheap and fine, attractive and repugnant, intriguing and ridiculous. It juxtaposes the cheapness of the low quality utensils and the high-class fur, creating a essence of both humility and extravagance. It is also attractive because of the soft fur, yet it would be repulsive to feel that fur inside one's mouth. Finally, the form covered in fur stimulates curiosity, but it is so useless and frivolous that it is ridiculous. All of this is in tune with the surrealist's emphasis on "convulsive beauty", because it is nonsensical yet intriguing.

This work sparked Oppenheim's popularity and gained her instant recognition as a surrealist, but unlike most surrealists, she did not want social revolution. Her art more explores relationships between objects in nature and society, and it like some pre-surrealist artists, such as Paul Klee and Jean Arp, in it's reference to nature and playful connections between living and non-living objects. Oppenheim's childhood in Switzerland may have influenced her preference towards nature, and her artistic grandmother could have been a strong factor in her artistic development. People relate this piece to feminine creativity, with the soft fur and domestic utensils. However, its off-putting nature creates a parody of femininity by exploring the odd combination of female-related objects.






http://www.jstor.org/stable/884234

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3245744

http://www.jstor.org/stable/488108

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=80997