Surrealism (1920s-1940s)

Three main chracteristics of Surrealism include the explorationof the deram and unconsciiusness as a valid form of reality, a willingness to depict images of perverse sexuality, scatology, decay, and violence, and the desire to push against the boundaries of socially aceptable behaviors and traditions in order to disover pure thought and the artist's true nature.  Three prominent artists of this movement are Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, and Marc Chagall.

Salvador Dali

  "The Resistance of Memory" 1931

   "Swans Reflecting Elephants" 1937

Rene Magritte

   "The Empire of Light" 1950-1965

   "The Art of Living" 1967

Marc Chagall

   "The Poet" 1911

   "I and the Village" 1911