Surrealism: The art form that painted across Europe in the 1920s  

Over the last several centuries, the art form of painting has undergone many changes. From ancient cave paintings to modern abstract ones, the arsenal of art has exponentially kept on increasing. Especially in the last century, art movements like cubism, realism, impressionism, expressionism, etc. spread across European countries. One of the most unique ones out of them was surrealism which emerged in the 1920s. Read on to learn more about this movement and what made it so distinct from the rest. 

What is surrealism? 
Surrealism was a cultural movement in visual art as well as literature which became popular in Europe during the 1920s. It emerged in Paris, France and soon swept all across Europe. This was the period between the two World Wars. It was inspired by the Dada movement, which revolved around the principle of making artworks which were, interestingly, anti-art. This means that they subverted the expected artistic traditions and defied reason on purpose. However, surrealism, as against this, put more emphasis on positive artistic expression. This movement departed from the contemporary artistic works which were highly formalistic in nature. According to André Breton, a French poet, who was considered to be the leader of this movement, the main purpose of this movement was to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super reality or surreality.” Some of the most prominent proponents of this movement were Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Andre Masson, etc. 

What are the characteristics and features of surreal art? 
One of the most unique features of surreal art is that it allowed artists to portray unusual, sometimes unnerving and illogical scenes and images. It was a way to allow one’s subconscious mind to find expression. Its psychological angle was emphasised by the aftermath of the First World War which had a lot of effects on the human psyche. It stepped deeper into those aspects of the human experience which ventured into different realms. For surrealist artists, art became a way to channel their dreams and innermost imaginings without having to give a reason or to explain them. Unlike other forms of art, this one was not defined by a particular set of styles or rules, and was very multi-faceted in nature. Surreal art encourage its viewers and the general population to explore and evaluate their unconscious mind through its distorted and bizarre imagery.