Surrealist artists are undoubtedly among the most famous artists in art history. Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Man Ray... these names will almost certainly be familiar to you.
Originating mainly from the Dada movement in the 1920s, Surrealism seeks to create a new reality. Tormented by the horrors of the First World War, the artists depart from reality to try to represent the intangible and the indescribable. The Surrealist artists are essentially dream artists. They are inspired by the unconscious, psychoanalytical theories, dreaming, and strange, imaginary worlds. Dominated by the presence of André Breton, Surrealism was first seen in literature, before being widely represented in visual art and cinema. Surrealist artworks are generally made up of unexpected elements, often unrelated to one another. They distort objects to create new aesthetic and iconographic approaches.
Like many other movements, Surrealism has contributed new artistic and creative techniques: Max Ernst's exquisite bodies and rubbings, Man Ray's rayographs, André Masson's automatic drawings, and Dali's "paranoia-criticism" theory. From Modern Surrealist artists to contemporary artists, they have all in their own way contributed to enriching this key movement in art history. Through this selection, discover the artworks of the most famous Surrealist artists!
