Metric System

Currently not on view

Metric System

c. 1933

Pierre Roy (French, 1880–1950)

Though little known today, Pierre Roy was a notable Surrealist painter during the movement’s early years, showing work in both Europe and the United States. His allegory of the metric system here includes an array of measuring devices and portraits of influential scientists. An oddly seamless portal cut into the back of the imagined laboratory opens onto an expansive view of another time and place. Seated in the foreground, a man works with a drafting compass, unaware of the fire blazing far off in the distance. The Surrealists often referred to the natural and physical sciences in order to question, even ridicule, belief in a rational, predictable, and fully understandable world.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Metric System

Date:

c. 1933

Artist:

Pierre Roy (French, 1880–1950)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

57 5/8 x 39 inches (146.4 x 99.1 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950

Accession Number:

1950-134-179

Geography:

Made in France, Europe

Provenance

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Currently not on view