Surrealist Animal Paintings
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.
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Giant ibis birds roam around a neighborhood. Bunny residents look bewildered at the towering creatures taking over their home. When artist Kat Silver first move...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A girl stands on a grassy mountain slope, sketching a skull in black and white on her easel. In front of her, a large elephant passes by, while snow-covered pea...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
1980s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Ink, Watercolor, Illustration Board
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paper, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Panel
20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Panel
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Illustration Board
Mid-20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
Artist Comments
Artist Diane Flick presents a glimpse into someone else's image of utopia. "Colonel Picklebottom's otherworldly dream persists only to exist," says Diane. In ...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
1970s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Gouache, Rag Paper
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Waves of vibrant colors radiate from a blue chalice, creating a rhythmic pattern. Framing the scene are horses galloping along the sides with a white bison at the bottom. The artwork is part of artist Rachel Srinivasan's tarot series. It represents the beginning of a new relationship or a renewal of communication. Water, waves, vessel, and the color blue are all symbolic in the cosmology of tarot.
About the Artist
For Rachel Srinivasan, an idea is worth putting on a canvas only if it still feels exciting after a few days. Rachel enjoys mulling the idea over in her mind for some time before creating an artwork. She hopes viewers will engage with her work and wonder about the subject matter, shapes and colors. "My current work is all about creating a connection between the person on the canvas with the viewer," she explains. She prefers large paintings and sometimes even makes her own canvases. She currently lives in Arizona and enjoys baking rhubarb pies, reading, running and going to art museums.
Words that describe this painting: water, ace, tarot, magic, water, happiness, horse, series, music, sorcery, mysticism, spirituality, bison, fantasy, animals, surrealism, oil painting, blue
Ace of Cups...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A tortoise hangs suspended by a hook, with daisies resting gently on its shell. The composition blends realism and surrealism, inviting reflection on captivit...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paper, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Archival Ink, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Marie-Eve Champagne combines collage and surrealist techniques in this work, using carefully curated imagery to spark curiosity about our constructed nar...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Paint, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Pen
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Metal
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Five birds gather around three women as fish float behind them. An upside-down umbrella perched on a railing heightens the scene’s surreal quality. In this pi...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
Late 20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
20th Century Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Acrylic, Panel
2010s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
"This painting is a part of both my Tarot series and my Power Bison series," shares artist Rachel Srinivasan. "In tarot, the two of swords is about decisions,...
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Animal Paintings
Oil
1940s Surrealist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil





