Magic Realism
The turn of phrase of magic realism was invented by German photographer, art historian and art critic Franz Roh in 1925 when he wished to describe modern realist paintings that portrayed fantastical or dream-like topics as their subjects of attention. The term originates from Roh's book Nach Expressionismus: Magischer Realismus which translates as “After Expressionism: Magic Realism".
In 20th century European culture, Magic Realism partook in a reactionary movement against modern or avant-garde art, known as the return to order. This movement in the arts was largely founded around a philosophy that came as a result of the legacy of the First World War. Magic realist artists included Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Savinio and others in Italy, and Alexander Kanoldt and Adolf Ziegler in neighboring Germany. Magic Realism is closely related to the dreamlike depictions of Surrealism and Neo-Romanticism in France. The term is also used to describe the work of certain painters from across the pond in America in the 1940s and 1950s including Paul Cadmus, Philip Evergood and Ivan Albright. It has also been known to describe the practices of literature, such as the writing of Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez.
Discover on Artsper some of the best contemporary artists of the magic realist expression!
René Magritte
Les menottes de cuivre
René Magritte
Sculpture - 49 x 16 x 13 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 6.3 x 5.1 inch
$21,912
Le Chef-d'Oeuvre ou les Mystères de l'Horizon
René Magritte
Print - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Print - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$843
Salvador Dali
Persistance de la Mémoire
Salvador Dali
Sculpture - 36.5 x 41 x 7 cm Sculpture - 14.4 x 16.1 x 2.8 inch
$17,417
5 assiettes en porcelaine « Les diners de Gala »
Salvador Dali
Design - 28 x 31 x 1 cm Design - 11 x 12.2 x 0.4 inch
$2,809
Que Font Ces Gens
Salvador Dali
Fine Art Drawings - 15.5 x 9.5 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 6.1 x 3.7 x 0.1 inch
Price upon request
Pablo Picasso
Visage (A.R. 611)
Pablo Picasso
Sculpture - 30.5 x 8.5 x 8.5 cm Sculpture - 12 x 3.3 x 3.3 inch
$22,249
Table with Fish, Black Background
Pablo Picasso
Fine Art Drawings - 55 x 70 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 21.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$157,314
Joan Miró
Non title
Joan Miró
Fine Art Drawings - 31 x 44 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.2 x 17.3 x 0.2 inch
$60,678
Giorgio de Chirico
La Musa della musica
Giorgio de Chirico
Sculpture - 24 x 5.8 x 5.8 cm Sculpture - 9.4 x 2.3 x 2.3 inch
$7,866
Landscape
Giorgio de Chirico
Fine Art Drawings - 13 x 19 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.1 x 7.5 x 0.1 inch
$11,799
Calligrammes, by Guillaume Apollinaire and Giorgio De Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico
Print - 33.3 x 25 x 10 cm Print - 13.1 x 9.8 x 3.9 inch
$94,389 $84,950
Les Archéologues IV
Giorgio de Chirico
Print - 40.3 x 30.3 x 0.1 cm Print - 15.9 x 11.9 x 0 inch
$7,753
L'Ospite dei Bagnanti Misteriosi
Giorgio de Chirico
Print - 71.5 x 50.5 x 0.1 cm Print - 28.1 x 19.9 x 0 inch
$4,719 $3,776
Max Ernst
Un Acteur de Talent - Original Frottage
Max Ernst
Fine Art Drawings - 36 x 28 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14.2 x 11 x 0 inch
$37,081
Relief en bronze VIII
Max Ernst
Sculpture - 34.2 x 39.2 x 0.2 cm Sculpture - 13.5 x 15.4 x 0.1 inch
$7,641
Sans titre (Un poème dans chaque livre Paul Eluard) Ref BDNW2915
Max Ernst
Print - 25 x 32.5 cm Print - 9.8 x 12.8 inch
$10,675
Ludo Gianroma
Man Ray
Sébastien Fery-Voignier
DH orange 2023
Sébastien Fery-Voignier
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$1,067
DH rose color one
Sébastien Fery-Voignier
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$809
DH Men Cliché
Sébastien Fery-Voignier
Painting - 120 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$2,360
DH duo n°3
Sébastien Fery-Voignier
Painting - 50 x 150 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch
$674
Arnold Fokam
Seule sous l'ombre du jaune
Arnold Fokam
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1 inch
$4,495
Le petit déjeuner à Bonaberi
Arnold Fokam
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1 inch
$4,495
Teppei Ikehila
Modern Borrowed Scenery Commute
Teppei Ikehila
Painting - 41 x 41 x 3 cm Painting - 16.1 x 16.1 x 1.2 inch
$1,798
The Bear Wants you to Stop Fighting
Teppei Ikehila
Painting - 33 x 33 x 3 cm Painting - 13 x 13 x 1.2 inch
$674
Modern Borrowed Scenery Lawson 2
Teppei Ikehila
Painting - 33 x 33 x 3 cm Painting - 13 x 13 x 1.2 inch
$674
Frédéric Menguy
Happy Pink Horse 2001 Le cheval rose joyeux
Frédéric Menguy
Print - 20 x 20 cm Print - 7.9 x 7.9 inch
$1,112
The Green Horse 2002 Le Cheval Vert
Frédéric Menguy
Print - 19 x 19 cm Print - 7.5 x 7.5 inch
$1,112
Blue, pink, green, orange happy Horses Rose, Orange, Bleu, Vert 2006 Quatre Chevaux Joyeux
Frédéric Menguy
Print - 20 x 20 x 1 cm Print - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$1,112