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Unknown (Noyer Indifférent (Walnut indifferent)) is a 1929 oil-on-canvas painting by French Surrealism painter Yves Tanguy.

Description
The intriguing history of this picture exemplifies the mutual influence of surrealism and psychoanalysis. In 1929, when Tanguy was essentially unknown, Carl Jung, Freud's protégé and a significant influence on the Surrealists, bought this piece. It was retained by Jung in his study, where it may have even served as inspiration for his 1958 theory of the collective unconscious. Four biomorphic shapes encircle a central cobweb shape and appear to levitate against utter darkness while throwing shadows. An ambiguous nocturnal atmosphere is produced by the thin horizontal bars that span the canvas. Jung's description of Tanguy's genius: "minimum of intelligibility with a maximum of abstraction". When Jung showed the image to a large group of people to gauge their reactions, he concluded that it represented a collective unconscious vision of the technological age. They observed bombs, far-off planets, sea life, and cities that were lit up at night. The artist's desolate horizons, according to Jung, included a "cosmic inhumanness and limitless desolation" that aroused the viewer's unconscious. After connecting the image to previous extraterrestrial happenings, he came to the conclusion that it was an archetypal sign of the sky. Paul Eluard recognized the sense of emptiness and quiet this piece evokes in his poem, "From the ends of the earth to the twilight of today/Nothing can withstand my bleak images," which is dedicated to Tanguy.

From Jung On Art: The Autonomy Of The Creative Drive 

Title explanation
The book, which describes the personal perspective of Carl Gustaw Jung on art describes a story, which explains the matter of the title of the painting. Jung purchased a Tanguy artwork that was on display at the Kunsthaus in Zürich during the exhibition of abstract and surrealistic paintings and plastic art, which ran from October 6 through November 3, 1929. It was included in the catalog under the title "Noyé indifférent". When purchasing this picture, Jung solely relied on his gut feeling. The catalog made no reference to Tanguy's work and omitted even a brief history of surrealism. Jung at the time believed that the artwork had no title. This is crucial since the image was titled "Noyé indifférent" in the 1929 catalog. After thirty years, Jung no longer had the small catalog, and it seemed he had forgotten about the lack of the title of one of his paintings. When a curator carefully inspected the image in 2000 so that it could be displayed at an exhibition in Stuttgart, a title was written on the reverse of the image. It was not written in Tanguy's handwriting, but rather in the handwriting of the Parisian art dealer with whom he had exchanged his artwork for painting supplies since he was at the time indigent. "Noyer Indifférent" had a different title from the one in the catalog. The picture was never turned around by Jung. If he had known the title, someone like him would never have ignored it. He believed there was no title on the artwork.

From Jung On Art: The Autonomy Of The Creative Drive :

Influence
As a result of his concern with childhood memories, nightmares, hallucinations, and psychotic episodes, Tanguy's symbolism is deeply personal. It defies straightforward interpretation and stirs up a variety of associations that appeal to the viewer's emotions and imagination.

Exibited
- Zurich, Kunsthaus Ausstellung Abstrakte und Surrealistische Malerei und Plastik, Kunsthaus Zürich, 1929, no. 136

- Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Yves Tanguy Retrospektive 1925 - 1955, 1982-83, no. 34, illustrated in the catalog

- Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Yves Tanguy und der Surrealismus, 2000, no. 31, illustrated in the catalogue

- Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Das ewige Auge: Von Rembrandt bis Picasso. Meisterwerke der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2007 (not included in the catalogue)