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.
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
An ostrich glides forward on colorful roller skates, balancing a gramophone, books, and an apple on its back. Headphones rest over its ears, and a carrot dang...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Metal
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Panel
1980s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Ink, Watercolor, Illustration Board
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1940s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Cardboard
Artist Comments
A mesmerizing underwater scene comes to life where an enchanting mix of sea creatures, humans, and scuba bunnies coexist in perfect harmony. The submerged wor...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
Artist Guigen Zha paints a giant blooming peony in lush shades of pink. As the national flower of China, they represent prosperity and nobility. A silhouette of a deer stands in the foreground, silent and majestic. The animal is a symbol of peace and happiness in Chinese culture. Together, they express sources of noble associations and interpretations. Guigen explores the sublime parallels between humans, animals, and nature.
About the Artist
Words that describe this painting: healing, peony, deer, animal, belief, landscape, floral, poetic, oilpaint, flower, surrealism, animals, nature, surrealism, oil painting, pink
One Blossom One World...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Two cups mirror each other, both overflowing with energetic, radiating light. Horses and bison frame the composition. The artwork is part of artist Rachel Srinivasan's tarot series. It represents relationships and love. Water, waves, vessel, and the color blue are all symbolic in the cosmology of tarot.
About the Artist
For Rachel Srinivasan, an idea is worth putting on a canvas only if it still feels exciting after a few days. Rachel enjoys mulling the idea over in her mind for some time before creating an artwork. She hopes viewers will engage with her work and wonder about the subject matter, shapes and colors. "My current work is all about creating a connection between the person on the canvas with the viewer," she explains. She prefers large paintings and sometimes even makes her own canvases. She currently lives in Arizona and enjoys baking rhubarb pies, reading, running and going to art museums.
Words that describe this painting: water, ace, tarot, magic, water, happiness, horse, series, music, sorcery, mysticism, spirituality, bison, fantasy, animals...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Three interconnected cups represent the beginning of friendship, meaningful social events, and a renewal of communication. Energetic wavy lines and a glowing li...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Five cups sit at the center of the painting, with the larger one in the middle and four smaller ones around it. Glowing beams and wavy lines radiate from them, ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
As part of artist Rachel Srinivasan's Rodeo Tarot series, this interpretation of the Seven of Pentacles tarot card uses green to embody the themes of growth, ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Around noon on a Friday, a tiny rider in a pink tutu balances atop a green dinosaur adorned with a yellow daisy. They navigate the ta...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
