Surrealist Figurative 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.
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Michael Wedge shows two figures installing parking meters in a mysterious landscape. A symbol of city streets stands out in the middle of a verdant fie...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Ink, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Lithograph, Archival Paper
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Canvas
1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
I used the activity of transplanting tree saplings as a way to connect the city and the country in this painting. I'm interested in surreal scenes where peopl...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Panel
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
City and country, and east and west meet in this surreal scene. A group of figures perform agricultural activities outside a city. Man pulls a tractor, woman ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A mystical figure emerges from the divide of light and darkness. In this ethereal piece by artist Naoko Paluszak, the entity appears to be made of the same energy as where it came from. Naoko created both color balance and a robust contrasting composition that evokes strong emotion. Part of Naoko's signature Who Are These Angels series...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
"This painting is inspired by the tarot card called the 'Ace of Swords'," states artist Rachel Srinivasan. A veiled woman peeks behind a tall sword as she is ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1990s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Tempera
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Driftwood, Oil, Laid Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1980s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor
Early 2000s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic