Surrealist Paintings
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.
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Wood
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Linen
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
Five birds gather around three women as fish float behind them. An upside-down umbrella perched on a railing heightens the scene’s surreal quality. In this pi...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Guigen Zha paints red lotus flowers under the shining sun. Square blocks of gradient color fill the fragmented scene. He pain...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
"Figures move through a surreal landscape occupied by elements from the city and the countryside," explains artist Michael Wedge. Michael creates a curious juxtaposition of everyday city street life and sprawling nature. People move about as if through normal traffic, with a yellow taxi...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Wax, Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Pen, Mixed Media, Paint, Archival Paper
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Pen, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Paper, Ink, Pen
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Egg Tempera, Board
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Mixed Media, Paint, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A mystical figure emerges from the divide of light and darkness. In this ethereal piece by artist Naoko Paluszak, the entity appears to be made of the same energy as where it came from. Naoko created both color balance and a robust contrasting composition that evokes strong emotion. Part of Naoko's signature Who Are These Angels series...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1930s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Paintings
Paper, India Ink
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Paper, India Ink, Watercolor
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Lithograph, Archival Paper
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Plaster, Oil, Acrylic, Fiberboard
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
1980s Surrealist Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1960s Surrealist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic