Surrealism

Surrealism is an artistic movement founded in 1944 by the French writer André Breton, who developed the Manifeste du surréalisme (Surrealist Manifesto). In the artist's own words:

"Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express oneself verbally, by the written word or in any other manner, what really happens in thought."

Initially, it focused on literature, however, the new trend quickly reflected in other activities such as philosophy, culture, and pictorial art. Although the original manifesto did not contemplate them, they settled and self-defined perfectly in line with Breton's original definition.

• Salvador Dalí
• René Magritte
• Joan Miró

Surrealism in Painting

Thus, surrealism fit well into painting, aided by the post-World War I environment, where there was a desire to break the limits that reason had been imposing for centuries. Humanity was tired of always responding to the same canons of creation, those that had always governed previous styles: beauty, realism, rationalism, logic, enlightenment, composition, balance, and color.

The success of surrealism was also helped by the fact that it was supported by major figures of the artistic scene of the time, painters who were very close to the "people", politically and culturally, they took advantage of this vein that promised great returns for those who rose along with the new thought.

In Spain, surrealism presents two main figures, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. The former, owner of an impeccable technique, earned by talent, the right to break all kinds of pictorial rules and at the same time be considered a genius. On the other hand, Miró cultivated a pristine, childlike, and even more dreamlike style if possible. Both are considered deeply influential and are key to understanding contemporary art.

Surrealist Oil Paintings