Surrealism

Dadaism, which you read about on Thursday, led to Surrealism. The same distaste for World War I and for the thinking of the society of the time created Surrealism.

Writers began the Surrealist movement. In 1924, Andre Breton explained Surrealism in his Surrealist Manifesto, and a few years later artists began to paint in the style he described. Surrealists wanted to free their minds of rational thought, to write or paint the ideas that were buried deep in their minds. These artists did not wish their work to make simple, logical sense.

This is why many of the paintings look like scenes from a dream (or nightmare). Many Surrealist paintings, like Salvador Dali’s Swans Reflecting Elephants, include imaginary creatures or real-life creatures shown in unnatural ways. Some paintings, such as Max Ernst’s Seascape, include several seemingly unrelated objects. Others twist realistic images by using strange colors.

In any Surrealist paintings, there is a lot to look at.

This week is Surrealism week so check back for posts about some important Surrealist painters.

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