Daiva Kaireviciute
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
People Also Browsed
Late 20th Century Ottomans and Poufs
Fabric
Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal
1980s Post-War Black and White Photography
Photographic Paper, Black and White, C Print, Silver Gelatin
Vintage 1980s Bohemian Decorative Art
Thread
Late 20th Century English Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone, Marble
1990s Italian International Style Vases
Murano Glass
Vintage 1970s Italian Hollywood Regency Ashtrays
Belgian Black Marble, Carrara Marble
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Brass
1990s Post-Modern Desks
Glass, Wood
Late 20th Century North American Rocking Chairs
Plastic
1960s Contemporary Black and White Photography
Photographic Paper, Photographic Film, Silver Gelatin
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings
Paint
Vintage 1940s Swedish Art Deco Vases
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Photography
Paper
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Floor Lamps
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Photography
Paper
Recent Sales
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Figurative Prints
Paper, Color
A Close Look at 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.