With
Salvador Dalí as its figurehead, the great ship of Surrealism traversed the turbulent seas of the early 20th century with sails billowing with
dreams and desires. Inspired by the psychoanalytical practice of Sigmund Freud, the Surrealists championed the
unconscious as the domain of truth, uninhibited by the standards or expectations of society.
With techniques ranging from
hypnotism to
nocturnal walks to
automatic writing, the likes of
André Breton, Max Ernst, Brassaï, and
Meret Oppenheim produced paintings, drawings, texts, and films in which they sought to excavate their most intimate and primal instincts. The results abound with
sexual fantasies, with
mysterious, menacing creatures, and with the juxtaposition of seemingly contradictory objects or ideas.
This book introduces the origins and the sensational legacy of the Surrealist movement, one of the most
profound and enduring influences on film, theater, literature, art, and thought.
Featured artists:
Hans Arp, André Breton, Giorgio de Chirico, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee, René Magritte, André Masson, Matta, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Meret Oppenheim, Yves Tanguy
