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Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

SURREALIST STYLE

In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.

Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.

Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.

Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)

The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.

Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Surrealist
Period: 1930s
Two men's heads, ca. 1930, ink on paper
Located in PARIS, FR
Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Two men's heads, circa 1930 Ink on paper 7 x 9 cm Born in Bucharest in 1897 to an officer in the Romanian National Guard and a mother of French ...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

India Ink, Ink

Man with coin, ca. 1930, pencil on paper
Located in PARIS, FR
Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Man with coin Pencil on paper Workshop stamp on reverse 8 x 5,5 inch Born in Bucharest in 1897 to an officer in the Romanian National Guard and ...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

Surrealist composition, ca. 1935, pencil on paper
Located in PARIS, FR
Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Surrealist composition, ca. 1935 Pencil on paper Studio stamp on verso 5 x 5,5 inch. Frame : 12 x 12 inch (30 x 30 cm) Born in Bucharest in 1897...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

Surrealist composition, ca. 1935, pencil on paper
Located in PARIS, FR
Mathieu (Matei) ROSIANU (1897-1969) Surrealist composition, ca. 1935 Pencil on paper Studio stamp on verso 6,7 x 5,5 inch. Frame : 12 x 12 inch. Born in Bucharest in 1897 to an offi...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pencil

Mlle. Jeanne at the Window, No. II
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Mlle. Jeanne at the Window, No. II Charcoal on paper, 1933 Signed and dated lower right (see photo) Illustrated: Gustafson, Zimmerli Museum, 1988, "Benjamin Benno: A Retrospective Ex...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Trompe-l'Oeil Study
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Trompe-l'Oeil Study Watercolor on heavy wove paper, 1943 Signed with the artists initials, lower center of image; Dated 1943, lower center of image Provenance: Swann Galleries, 2007, realized $2,640 Condition: Excellent. Fresh colors. Framed with conservation glass. Sheet: 14 3/4 x 11 1/4" Frame size: 20 3/4 x 17 Berman brothers (painters) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eugene Berman in Italy in the 1960s Eugène Berman (Russian: Евгений Густавович Берман; 4 November 1899, Saint Petersburg, Russia – 14 December 1972, Rome) and his brother Leonid Berman...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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Watercolor

The Sacred Flying Chariot -Drawing - 1937
Located in Roma, IT
The Sacred Flying Chariot is an ink drawing and collage on paper realized by an anonymous surrealist artist in 1937. Monogrammed "P.B." on the lower and dated and hand-note on the r...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Ink

Desert Flower
By Pierre Roy (b.1880)
Located in London, GB
'Desert Flower', gouache on coloured paper, by Pierre Roy (circa 1930s). The artist has skilfully captured the beautiful white flowers extending from the ma...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Surrealist Nude Female Figure
Located in Miami, FL
This is an important work that is loaded with Surrealist iconographies. The shape of her hands is echoed in the shape of her hair. Tiny man and woman figures...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite, Archival Paper

Surrealist Composition with Nude, Door and Key
Located in London, GB
CAMILLE BRYEN 1907-1977 [CAMILLE BRIAND] Nantes 1907 – 1977 Paris (French) Title: Surrealist Composition with Nude, Door and Key, ca 1935 Technique: Original Signed Graphite D...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Surrealist Composition with Leg and Arm
Located in London, GB
CAMILLE BRYEN 1907-1977 [CAMILLE BRIAND] Nantes 1907 – 1977 Paris (French) Title: Surrealist Composition with Leg and Arm, ca 1935 Technique: Original Signed Graphite Drawing...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

Surrealist composition with Arm (Ink)
Located in London, GB
CAMILLE BRYEN 1907-1977 [CAMILLE BRIAND] Nantes 1907 – 1977 Paris (French) Title: Surrealist composition with Arm (Ink), circa 1935 Techn...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink

Surrealist composition with Arm (Graphite)
Located in London, GB
CAMILLE BRYEN 1907-1977 [CAMILLE BRIAND] Nantes 1907 – 1977 Paris (French) Title: Surrealist composition with Arm (Graphite), circa 1935 ...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

UNTITLED MOUNTAINS
Located in Santa Monica, CA
EDWARD HAGEDORN (AMERICAN 1902 – 1982) UNTITLED MOUNTAINS, ca 1935 Tempera, Unsigned. Image 18 x 24 inches. See also 1stdibs item LU411312750272 for another example form the follow...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Tempera

PLUNGING COMET
Located in Santa Monica, CA
EDWARD HAGEDORN (AMERICAN 1902 – 1982) PLUNGING COMET - Large Ink and graphite drawing. Signed, titled and dated in pencil. Image, 16 x 22, Sheet 22 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches See also ...
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1930s Surrealist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Granite

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Surrealist drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Surrealist drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add drawings and watercolor paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange, purple, yellow and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Isabel Rock, Corne Akkers, Maria C. Bernhardsson, and Sergio Barletta. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Surrealist drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 3.75 inches across are also available. Prices for drawings and watercolor paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $121 and tops out at $224,500, while the average work sells for $1,494.

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