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!
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Venus à la giraffe
Salvador Dali
Sculpture - 56.5 x 9.5 x 27.5 cm Sculpture - 22.2 x 3.7 x 10.8 inch
£6,140
La Trahison des Images (Ceci n'est pas une pipe)
René Magritte
Print - 45 x 60 x 0.1 cm Print - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
£684
Pantocrator - Christ In His Majesty (Tarot 3 of Coins)
Salvador Dali
Print - 75.9 x 54.3 x 0.3 cm Print - 29.875 x 21.375 x 0.1 inch
£3,162
Homage to Newton (bronze sculpture)
Salvador Dali
Sculpture - 37.1 x 16 x 7.1 cm Sculpture - 14.6 x 6.3 x 2.8 inch
£15,414
8 Mortal Sins Complete Suite
Salvador Dali
Print - 44.45 x 30.99 x 2.54 cm Print - 17.5 x 12.2 x 1 inch
£13,833
The Path to Wisdom (The Banker)
Salvador Dali
Print - 74.6 x 54.6 x 0.3 cm Print - 29.375 x 21.5 x 0.1 inch
£2,371
The Lady Dulcinea from Historia de Don Quichote de la Mancha
Salvador Dali
Print - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Print - 30 x 22 inch
£2,767
Un peu de l'âme des bandits
René Magritte
Print - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Print - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
£684
Un peu de l'âme des bandits
René Magritte
Print - 60 x 45 x 0.3 cm Print - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0.1 inch
£614
Carmen and Don José fleeing on horseback from The Opera Carmen
Salvador Dali
Print - 65 x 50 cm Print - 25.6 x 19.7 inch
£3,386
Dan, from the series Twelve Tribes of Israel
Salvador Dali
Print - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£3,052
Le caducee de Mars alimente par la boule de feu de Jupiter from La conquête du cosmos
Salvador Dali
Print - 99.5 x 69.5 x 0.1 cm Print - 39.2 x 27.4 x 0 inch
£3,736
Autumn from the suite “The Seasons”
Salvador Dali
Print - 56 x 76 x 0.1 cm Print - 22 x 29.9 x 0 inch
£3,412
King Richard from Ivanhoe Suite
Salvador Dali
Print - 75 x 54 x 0.1 cm Print - 29.5 x 21.3 x 0 inch
£3,473
Lewis Carroll - Die jagd nach dem snark
Max Ernst
Print - 33 x 25 x 0.1 cm Print - 13 x 9.8 x 0 inch
£2,456
Rembrandt - Portrait du peintre par lui-même
Salvador Dali
Print - 84 x 63 x 0.1 cm Print - 33.1 x 24.8 x 0 inch
£3,491
Eternal Circumcision from Aliyah Series
Salvador Dali
Print - 62.2 x 48.3 x 0.5 cm Print - 24.5 x 19 x 0.2 inch
£1,976
Les montres molles demi sommeil
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 73.7 x 0.5 cm Print - 22 x 29 x 0.2 inch
£1,976
Les spoutniks astiques elasticots statistiques
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 73.7 x 0.5 cm Print - 22 x 29 x 0.2 inch
£1,976
Les Entre-plats Sodamises
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 73.7 x 0.5 cm Print - 22 x 29 x 0.2 inch
£1,976
Les caprices pinces princiers
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 73.7 x 0.5 cm Print - 22 x 29 x 0.2 inch
£1,976
Les Panaches Panaches from Les Diners de Gala, Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 74.9 x 0.5 cm Print - 22 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch
£1,976
Les Songes Drolatiques de Pantagruel
Salvador Dali
Print - 85.09 x 81.28 x 2 cm Print - 33.5 x 32 x 0.8 inch
£3,952
Flordali - Les Fruits : Révérence du groseiller
Salvador Dali
Print - 56.5 x 37 cm Print - 22.2 x 14.6 inch
£3,859
Le Cercle viscéral du cosmos
Salvador Dali
Print - 100 x 70 x 0.1 cm Print - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0 inch
£4,368
Hommage aux Petits Lits Blancs (L'art dans les bijoux)
Salvador Dali
Print - 76 x 56 x 0.1 cm Print - 29.9 x 22 x 0 inch
£3,666
Le Crane, from Anamorphoses
Salvador Dali
Print - 76 x 56 x 0.1 cm Print - 29.9 x 22 x 0 inch
£3,209
Raphael - Le Mariage de la Vierge
Salvador Dali
Print - 89 x 63 x 0.1 cm Print - 35 x 24.8 x 0 inch
£3,491
Velasquez The Surrender Of Breda
Salvador Dali
Print - 73 x 76 x 0.1 cm Print - 28.7 x 29.9 x 0 inch
£3,491
Return of Ulysses from Homage a Homere
Salvador Dali
Print - 76.2 x 55.9 x 0.5 cm Print - 30 x 22 x 0.2 inch
£3,557
Mystery of Sleep (The Hermit) from Visions Surrealiste
Salvador Dali
Print - 73.7 x 53.3 cm Print - 29 x 21 inch
£7,509
Les songes drolatiques de Pantagruel bleu
Salvador Dali
Print - 76 x 53.5 cm Print - 29.9 x 21.1 inch
£4,298
Terpsichore, from Les Muses
Salvador Dali
Print - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£4,807
Révérence du groseillier from Flor Dali/Les fruits
Salvador Dali
Print - 75 x 53 x 0.1 cm Print - 29.5 x 20.9 x 0 inch
£6,894
Spectacles with Holograms and Computers
Salvador Dali
Print - 77 x 55.5 x 0.1 cm Print - 30.3 x 21.9 x 0 inch
£5,131
