Kristians Tonny
1920s Surrealist Abstract Paintings
Oil, Board
1930s Surrealist Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1940s Surrealist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Pen
Recent Sales
1950s Contemporary Figurative Prints
Lithograph
1940s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
India Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Watercolor
People Also Browsed
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Steel
2010s Austrian Sofas
Leather, Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Brass
Late 18th Century Old Masters Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Vintage 1920s Italian Art Deco Paintings
Canvas, Wood
Antique 16th Century French Renaissance Figurative Sculptures
Sandstone
1920s Cubist Figurative Prints
Paper, Etching
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Ceramic, Oak
2010s Bosnian Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Beech, Velvet
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Natural Specimens
Shell, Glass, Mahogany
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Mirror, Plastic
Late 19th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Velvet, Walnut, Alpaca, Mohair, Bouclé, Linen, Wood, Oak
Antique 19th Century Italian Sculptures and Carvings
Pine
Antique 19th Century Irish Armchairs
Upholstery, Yew
Vintage 1950s American Folk Art Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Paint
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.
Read More
See Kent Monkman’s Magical Realist Take on Frontier History
With a solo show at the Denver Art Museum and a commission from the Met, the Cree Canadian painter has become an international sensation.
Lincoln Glenn Gallery Rediscovers American Art That Time Forgot
Gallerists Douglas Gold and Eli Sterngass tell us how they uncover lost treasures by stellar artists from the past 160 years.
Hands Down, Pedro Friedeberg’s Mexico City Home Is a Surrealist Delight
The eccentric artist's abode is a veritable cabinet of curiosities.
10 Real Quotes from Surrealist Master Joan Miró
What he says may inspire you to pick up a paintbrush.