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Surrealism

Surrealism was an artistic movement that began in the 1920s in reaction to World War I. It aimed to free the imagination and tap into the unconscious mind through bizarre, dreamlike subject matter inspired by psychoanalysis. Two influential surrealist artists were Salvador Dali, known for realistic scenes in unrealistic situations, and Rene Magritte, who depicted ordinary objects in unusual contexts to provoke thought.

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278 views8 pages

Surrealism

Surrealism was an artistic movement that began in the 1920s in reaction to World War I. It aimed to free the imagination and tap into the unconscious mind through bizarre, dreamlike subject matter inspired by psychoanalysis. Two influential surrealist artists were Salvador Dali, known for realistic scenes in unrealistic situations, and Rene Magritte, who depicted ordinary objects in unusual contexts to provoke thought.

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surrealism

Key features of
surrealism
-Surrealism tried to free
the imaginative human mind
and reveal the unconscious,
encouraging radical change
and rejection to logic and
reasoning.

-Surrealism literally means


“above and beyond reality”
-Surrealist art often shows
weird, bizarre, dreamlike
subject matter because
surrealist artist were
interested in depicting the
world of dreams, nightmares,
desire, and imagination.
THE MOVEMENT
-The movement began in Paris in the 1920s,
partially in reaction to the horrors of
World War I and was also influenced by the
research and work of Austrian neurologist
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), who founded
psychoanalysis.

- Freud had significant influence on the


beliefs and practices of the Surrealists.
He believed that our subconscious thoughts
are symbolically represented in our dreams
and fully understand ourselves, we need to
tap into these dreams and messages.
Artists, writers and poets were inspired to
explore the conscious and subconscious
mind.
Salvador Dali
-Spanish Artist

-Dali’s uses realistic items to


reveal his dreamlike images.
His paintings are executed with
great care and often depict
recognisable objects in great
detail and are usually placed
in unrealistic situations,
often using distortion.

-Dali felt he had to live his


life in a surreal manner in
order to be a surreal artist.
He once gave a press conference
with a boiled lobster in his
head.
Salvador Dali, Persistence of Memory, 1931

How many clocks can you count in Persistence of Memory?

What is surreal about this painting?


Renė Magritte
-René Magritte was a Belgian
Surrealist artist. He was
well known for creating
thought-provoking artwork.
Often depicting ordinary
objects in unusual context.
René Magritte “Empire of Light”

-What do you ‘see’ first?

-After contemplating what do you


now ‘see’?

-What is not right about this


scene?

-How has Magritte achieved this


deception?

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