In his haunting drawing Leaves Turned into Children, the Russian-American Surrealist Pavel Tchelitchew conjures an image of foliage metamorphosing into human figures. The faces and limbs of several children appear within the folds of leaves, as if emerging from oversized cloaks. While suggesting an apt metaphor for the awkward adjustments of adolescence, Tchelitchew’s image goes further, dissolving the boundary between the human form and the rest of the natural world.
Pavel Tchelitchew (1898–1957), Leaves Turned into Children, 1939. Pen and ink with wash, 11 13/16 x 8 3/4 inches (30 x 22.2 cm). The Joseph F. McCrindle Collection, 2009.311.