Art from the distant past can appear surreal to the modern eye. Dragons and demons populate ancient frescos and medieval triptychs. Italian Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593) used trompe l’oeil effects ("fool the eye") to depict human faces made of fruit, flowers, insects, or fish. The Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516) turned barnyard animals and household objects into terrifying monsters. Twentieth-century surrealists praised "The Garden of Earthly Delights" and called Bosch their predecessor. Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) may have imitated Bosch when he painted the odd, face-shaped rock formation in his shockingly erotic masterpiece, "The Great Masturbator." However, the creepy images Bosch painted are not surrealist in the modern sense. It’s likely that Bosch aimed to teach Biblical lessons rather than to explore dark corners of his psyche.
