Surrealist Mixed Media
In the wake of World War I’s ravaging of Europe, artists delved into the unconscious mind to confront and grapple with this reality. Poet and critic André Breton, a leader of the Surrealist movement who authored the 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, called this approach “a violent reaction against the impoverishment and sterility of thought processes that resulted from centuries of rationalism.” Surrealist art emerged in the 1920s with dreamlike and uncanny imagery guided by a variety of techniques such as automatic drawing, which can be likened to a stream of consciousness, to channel psychological experiences.
Although Surrealism was a groundbreaking approach for European art, its practitioners were inspired by Indigenous art and ancient mysticism for reenvisioning how sculptures, paintings, prints, performance art and more could respond to the unsettled world around them.
Surrealist artists were also informed by the Dada movement, which originated in 1916 Zurich and embraced absurdity over the logic that had propelled modernity into violence. Some of the Surrealists had witnessed this firsthand, such as Max Ernst, who served in the trenches during World War I, and Salvador Dalí, whose otherworldly paintings and other work responded to the dawning civil war in Spain.
Other key artists associated with the revolutionary art and literary movement included Man Ray, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Frida Kahlo and Meret Oppenheim, all of whom had a distinct perspective on reimagining reality and freeing the unconscious mind from the conventions and restrictions of rational thought. Pablo Picasso showed some of his works in “La Peinture Surréaliste” — the first collective exhibition of Surrealist painting — which opened at Paris’s Galerie Pierre in November of 1925. (Although Magritte is best known as one of the visual Surrealist movement’s most talented practitioners, his famous 1943 painting, The Fifth Season, can be interpreted as a formal break from Surrealism.)
The outbreak of World War II led many in the movement to flee Europe for the Americas, further spreading Surrealism abroad. Generations of modern and contemporary artists were subsequently influenced by the richly symbolic and unearthly imagery of Surrealism, from Joseph Cornell to Arshile Gorky.
Find a collection of original Surrealist paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.
Early 2000s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
Early 2000s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1960s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Textile, Paper
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching, Aquatint
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic, Charcoal
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph, Etching
Artist Comments
A vivid red face stares intently, its piercing eyes fixed on a snake that doubles as its tongue. Swirling vines and delicate flowers bring an element of whims...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Lithograph
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Drypoint, Etching
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Drypoint, Etching
Artist Comments
Botanical and organic forms surround a blindfolded figure, creating a surreal encounter in a magical place. The characters are immersed in the vegetation, bec...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Three people work together to install fence posts on the roof of a city building. The background features a city skyline fading into the night. The surreal sc...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
Artist Comments
This piece blends collaged pages from an old novel with translucent oil glazes as a background. The subjects—a primate, a tennis ball, and a shoe—are rendered in opaque and calm tones. The piece delves into the human condition...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Early 2000s Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Artist Comments
"This is a contemporary interpretation of the fall of Adam and Eve," says artist Libby Ramage. A crimson snake rises in the background, watching their descent...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board
Early 2000s Surrealist Mixed Media
Ink, Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Silk
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Watercolor, Color Pencil
Artist Comments
A seventh-grade algebra homework, a book page, acrylic paint, and charcoal constitute artist Libby Ramage's whimsical mixed-media piece. She affixes pages of ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
This piece is made by layering Korean mulberry paper on a wooden panel with homemade flour glue. Then I apply a glue base. Next, I draw my sketch, and trace ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
"Sound and Silence" is part of my newest series of mixed media works. I meticulously hand cut from vintage paper. The work is collage and thread on heavyweigh...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Monotype
1980s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper
1990s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching, Monoprint
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Found Objects, Mixed Media
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Found Objects, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Mixed Media
Etching, Monoprint
Early 2000s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media
20th Century Surrealist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
1970s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Mixed Media, Board, Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
1920s Surrealist Mixed Media
Paper





