Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement and artistic style that was founded in 1924 by André Breton. Surrealism style uses visual imagery from the subconscious mind to create art without the intention of logical comprehensibility.

The movement was begun primarily in Europe, centered in Paris, and attracted many of the members of the Dada community. Influenced by the psychoanalytical work of Freud and Jung, there are similarities between the Surrealist movement and the Symbolist movement of the late 19th century.

Some of the greatest artists of the 20th century became involved in the Surrealist movement, and the group included Giorgio de Chirico, Man Ray, René Magritte, and many others.

The Surrealist movement eventually spread across the globe, and has influenced artistic endeavors from painting and sculpture to pop music and film directing.

The greatest known Surrealist artist is the world famous Salvador Dali.

•Born: 11 May 1904
•Birthplace: Figueres, Spain
•Died: 23 January 1989 (Heart failure)
•Best Known As: The surrealist artist with the curly mustache

Name at birth: Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali i Domenech

Salvador Dali was the 20th century's most famous surrealist artist. He may be best known as the painter of 1931's The Persistence of Memory -- the crazy landscape with the droopy clocks. In the 1920s and '30s Dali made his reputation in Europe and the U.S., influenced by the cubism of Picasso and the psychological theories of Freud. Breaking with other surrealist artists in the 1940s, Dali's later paintings were more realistic and filled with religious and scientific imagery. As the years passed Dali became famous for his flamboyant personality and looks -- in particular, for his pop-eyes and his super-waxed, turned-up moustache. Dali worked in several media, including film: He collaborated with filmmaker Luis Buñuel on the avant-garde Un Chien Andalou (1929) and L'Age d'Or (1930), and designed the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945).