Surrealist More Art
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.
Artist Comments
Artist Diane Flick presents a glimpse into someone else's image of utopia. "Colonel Picklebottom's otherworldly dream persists only to exist," says Diane. In th...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1910s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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2010s Surrealist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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1920s Surrealist More Art
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Artist Comments
As part of her Rodeo Tarot series, artist Rachel Srinivasan reinterprets the pentacles suit, adorned with galloping horses on the edges. Four bison heads surr...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
1990s Surrealist More Art
Permanent Marker, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
Artist Comments
As part of her Rodeo Tarot series, artist Rachel Srinivasan reinterprets the pentacles suit, adorned with galloping horses on the edges. Three white bison for...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
In this piece, artist Julia Hacker creates a whimsical and vivid dreamscape of a desert. "It invites you to lose yourself in its charming portrayal of nature," ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Rachel Srinivasan reinterprets the pentacles suit adorned with galloping horses on the edges. Two white bison heads appear in the middle, their gentle ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Rachel Srinivasan reinterprets the pentacles suit adorned with galloping horses on the edges. Rachel uses various tones of green, symbolizing earthly w...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist More Art
Porcelain
Early 2000s Surrealist More Art
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1940s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Photogravure
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
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1990s Surrealist More Art
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Watercolor, Graphite
Early 2000s Surrealist More Art
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Watercolor, Graphite, Paper
Artist Comments
Artist Rachel Srinivasan presents a surreal image of a white bison standing in the middle of 10 swords—nominative to its corresponding card from the tarot d...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
20th Century Surrealist More Art
Enamel
Artist Comments
Artist Rachel Srinivasan's surrealistic piece combines the traditional symbolism of the tarot card with the image of a white bison and eight crossed swords. T...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Rachel Srinivasan presents a surreal portrayal of the nine of swords tarot card. A majestic and mysterious white bison remains strong as a falling blad...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Miranda Gamel depicts an ethereal being with a glowing crown and wings. Star nebulas and light beams surround her in lustrous prismatic hues. The nude fi...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist More Art
Canvas, Oil