“The Guardian of the Cycle” is a surrealistic, figurative painting created by Desmond Morris in 1972. This artwork reflects the surrealist movement, which was known for its dream-like visual expressions and unexpected juxtapositions that often explored the subconscious mind.
The artwork features a central, tree-like figure set against a twilight or night sky, which fades from a deep blue at the top to a lighter tone near the horizon. The figure itself is predominantly black with highlights and contours in shades of red and accents of white, suggesting illumination or reflection. The silhouette of the figure has rounded, organic extensions that resemble branches, with circular forms capping the ends—seeming to symbolically represent various stages of a lifecycle or celestial bodies.
Around the central figure, the background displays a landscape with simplistic, white-outline forms that seem to be distant trees or plants, emphasizing the dream-like quality of the scene. Additionally, there are small, white animal-like figures and shapes that also have the appearance of being drawn in white outlines, contributing to the ethereal and otherworldly feel of the painting. The presence of a red form near the base of the central figure could be interpreted as a kind of surreal sun setting or rising within the landscape. The bottom of the artwork features a strip of dark color, perhaps representing the ground, adorned with various small, abstract shapes and symbols adding to the overall mystical ambiance of the work.
