Surrealist 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.
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Gold Leaf
20th Century Surrealist Art
Paper, Woodcut
Artist Comments
Dwelling in a space of absolute simplicity, free from endless mental chatter, seems quite appealing. A tiny robot with a die is captivated by what exists befo...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Oil
1950s Surrealist Art
Monotype
1950s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
20th Century Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
2010s Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Surrealist Art
Etching
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph, Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1930s Surrealist Art
Handmade Paper
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
1910s Surrealist Art
Etching
1980s Surrealist Art
Screen
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1960s Surrealist Art
Photogravure
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Gold Leaf
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art
Oil
1970s Surrealist Art
Rag Paper, Etching
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1930s Surrealist Art
Linocut
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
1980s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Ink, Archival Paper
1970s Surrealist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art
Etching, Lithograph
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
20th Century Surrealist Art
Paper, Lithograph
2010s Surrealist Art
Paper, Color
1970s Surrealist Art
Etching
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Surrealist Art
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Surrealist Art
Paper, Color
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1960s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Surrealist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Early 2000s Surrealist Art
Mezzotint
Late 20th Century Surrealist Art
Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Art
Black and White, Archival Pigment
1930s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Art
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Art
Lithograph
2010s Surrealist Art
Mixed Media