Surrealism is a movement in art and literature. It was founded in Paris in 1924 by the French poet Andre Breton. Like Dadaism, from which it arose, Surrealism uses art as a weapon against the evils and restrictions that Surrealists see in society. Unlike Dadaism, however, Surrealism tries to reveal a new and higher reality than that of daily life. Surrealism, an invented word meaning super realism, derived much of its theory from the psychology of the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud.
The Surrealists claim to create forms and images not primarily by reason, but by unthinking impulse and blind feeling—or even by accident. Using these methods, the Surrealists declare that alternative realities can be created in art and literature. These realities are as valid as conventional realities and more beautiful because of their unexpectedness.
Much of the beauty sought by Surrealism is violent and cruel. In this way, the Surrealists try to shock the viewer or reader into a realization that “normal” realities are arbitrary. In the process, the Surrealists reveal what they consider the deeper, truer part of human nature.
Although the movement is not so strong as it once was, it still influences artists and writers. Leading Surrealist painters include Andre Masson, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Max Ernst. The leading Surrealistic writer was Andre Breton.
