Surrealist Animal Paintings
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
A young boy stands indoors, absorbed in his mobile device. Just beyond an open door, a polar bear looms inside the house, its mouth open as if roaring. The brig...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Polymer
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A surreal domestic scene features two cats resting in a room, gazing directly at the viewer. Whimsical moments unfold around them as a tiny animal stands by a m...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Four cups connect at the center of the composition, forming a diamond shape. Wavy lines ripple around them, while bright beams radiate from the handles and rims...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1930s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A child, adorned only with a cross pendant, bracelet, and earrings, sits on the grass and gazes upward in awe. Above, an orca whale floats mid-air, its massive ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Archival Ink, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Part of artist Michael Wedge's series explores the contrast between urban and rural environments. This surrealist painting depicts the installation of some digital technology in an unlikely place in nature. A woman prepares to climb up the ladder while another approaches with an open laptop and an extension wire at hand. They are busy in the middle of an open field with a fox wandering between them and deers grazing in the distance.
About the Artist
Michael Wedge works in a variety of mediums: sculpture, painting, mixed media and more. He oftentimes starts with a mental image and creates digital collages, which become the basis for his paintings. A lot of his work references themes from his personal life, such as the experience of living in a city versus in the countryside. If his art seems mysterious, it;s because he enjoys making complex works. "I am attracted to images or moments that seem to have something subtle or hidden under the surface," he explains. When he;s not making art, he teaches it at an elementary school.
Words that describe this painting: surrealism...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gold Leaf
Artist Comments
Water, waves, vessel, and the color blue are all symbolic of emotions in the cosmology of tarot. Galloping horses and unicorns frame the scene. The artwork is p...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Thomas Broadbent"Home on the Range" contemporary surrealist oil painting, bison, birds, chaise, 2024
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A man and a woman press against a tree while a ram charges towards it. This surreal encounter represents the idea of trying to complete a task and meeting res...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"A panther in space, now that's out of this world," says artist Miranda Gamel. She depicts a surrealist image of the ebony fe...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
An old-timey frog couple stands together, but they seem to be miles apart. The artwork delves into the profound exploration of human connections, revealing ho...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
Artist Comments
The artwork depicts the Nine of Pentacles card, symbolizing rapidly growing success, incoming financial satisfaction, and wealth. White bison figures represen...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
