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.
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper
Artist Comments
Part of a series of biomorphic portraits mixing elements of realism and fantasy, and surrealism and folk art. Artist Diana Rosa says she combined 50 percent man with 50 percent crocodile, playing up the patterns and shapes reminiscent of nature and wild organisms.
About the Artist
Lighthearted and jovial by nature, Diana’s contemporary paintings depict people in varied scenarios of indulgence. Whether it is a quiet moment alone in the woods, or a tantalizing rendezvous in the tub, Diana creates private moments in carefree or comedic ways. Her narratives often include humorous sexual tension between unlikely bedfellows, enough to elicit a chuckle from even the most stoic art lover. “I create a visual dialogue where everything is possible and magic is the queen,” says Diana. “[There is] a subtle injection of ambiguity that blurs the gap between the ordinary and the fantastic. The background of this sub-world appears to be transformed into an innocent children’s fantasy that almost looks like a dream.”
Words that describe this painting: head, face, animal, human, portrait, mask, crocodile, man, folk, primitive, outsider, naive, Picasso, animals, surrealism, representational, primitive, acrylic painting, green
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Canvas, Watercolor
1960s Surrealist More Art
Permanent Marker
1970s Surrealist More Art
Lithograph
1920s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Photogravure
Artist Comments
A surreal portrait of a jaguar overlaid with a glowing peony. "She moves unapologetically through space, through water, through the land," says artist Miranda...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
1930s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Mixed Media
1920s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Etching
Artist Comments
"Triggered is a work that was slowly developed due to multiple influences changing the meaning of the painting," explains artist Asha Hanna. "The original ins...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Acrylic
1920s Surrealist More Art
Photogravure, Paper
1960s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Etching
1970s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Etching
1920s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Photogravure
Mid-20th Century Surrealist More Art
Canvas, Oil
1950s Surrealist More Art
Paper
Artist Comments
This painting is all about roots;both going back to my artistic roots, and learning that in order for something to grow, one must take care of the roots. Crafte...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
1920s Surrealist More Art
Etching
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
1960s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Watercolor, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media
1950s Surrealist More Art
Paper
1960s Surrealist More Art
Paper
1970s Surrealist More Art
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor
Artist Comments
On this piece I painted a little Dutch ceramic windmill souvenir with a small Delft blue windmill drawing. In the background there's another windmill scene: a copy of Jacob Van Ruisdael...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
1930s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Engraving
1930s Surrealist More Art
Oil
1910s Surrealist More Art
Paper
Artist Comments
The bison and the beetle have a prehistoric elegance about them that I thought would compliment each other perfectly. Symbolically, both represent life and mortality, which has been on my mind lately. To Native Americans, bison are symbolic of sacred life and abundance. And in ancient greek mythology the beetle became revered as a symbol of rebirth and immortality -- its daily journey across the sky became an allegory of human life. The Wallpaper collection is a juxtaposition of masculine meets feminine. I wanted to create a unique series that stands apart from traditional nature paintings, where the wild and somewhat prehistoric aspects of my animals featured contrast against their delicate backdrops. In addition to this, many of my paintings are created with a little bit of underlying symbolism usually sparked from a world event or life moment that I am experiencing. I concentrate on this theme as a therapeutic mantra throughout the creation of the painting. For each painting, different techniques and layers of design are implemented when creating the wall paper effect. To keep the patterns consistent I create a stencil to outline the shapes of my hummingbirds, bugs and fish, and then I hand paint each shape individually. In the areas where I wanted a little more chaos, I would forgo the stencil and eyeball each design. My animals are always painted first, and then I layout the design around them.
About the Artist
Australian-born Alana Clumeck...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media, Magazine Paper
Artist Comments
Using art to work through the loss of my father, this piece explores how grief causes otherwise forgotten objects to take on new meaning. My dad and I were es...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Oil
1950s Surrealist More Art
Paper
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
1960s Surrealist More Art
Clay
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
1950s Surrealist More Art
Etching
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
1950s Surrealist More Art
Clay
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
1920s Surrealist More Art
Etching
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
1930s Surrealist More Art
Handmade Paper
2010s Surrealist More Art
Mixed Media
20th Century Surrealist More Art
Color
20th Century Surrealist More Art
Color
1980s Surrealist More Art
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
20th Century Surrealist More Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist More Art
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Graphite, Ink