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Art Essentials
Surrealismus
Surrealism was launched as a literary and artistic movement by French poet Andre´ Breton in 1924, and by the time of his death in 1966 it had become one of the most popular and recognizable art movements of the twentieth century.
Contrary to common belief, surrealism was created in contrast to the chaos and spontaneity of Dada. Surrealism was a highly organized movement with doctrinaire theories that helped it spread to all corners of the globe, until its very name had entered everyday usage as a synonym for the bizarre.
Taking the reader on a narrative journey beyond such obvious surrealist stars as Salvador Dali´, Surrealism is a digestible introduction to the movement’s key figures as well as their works and where to find them. Complete with a glossary of key terms and chronology, this new addition to the Art Essentials series provides an indispensable resource for anyone interested in learning about this influential and wonderfully idiosyncratic style in art.
Contrary to common belief, surrealism was created in contrast to the chaos and spontaneity of Dada. Surrealism was a highly organized movement with doctrinaire theories that helped it spread to all corners of the globe, until its very name had entered everyday usage as a synonym for the bizarre.
Taking the reader on a narrative journey beyond such obvious surrealist stars as Salvador Dali´, Surrealism is a digestible introduction to the movement’s key figures as well as their works and where to find them. Complete with a glossary of key terms and chronology, this new addition to the Art Essentials series provides an indispensable resource for anyone interested in learning about this influential and wonderfully idiosyncratic style in art.
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First published March 28, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 12, 2021
Daudzpusīgs un plašs ievads sirreālismā, kuram varbūt izdosies jūs iemācīt mīlēt sirreālismu ar visām tā dīvainībām. Ja ne mīlēt, tad vismaz saprast un pieņemt. Ak, bet ja jūs JAU to mīlat, tad varēsiet turpināt par to priecāties arī šajā izdevumā.
April 27, 2020
Topā "grāmatas ar kurām aizmigt" šī man būtu pirmajā vietā. Tāpēc arī lasīju tik ilgi. Nevar taču palasīt, ja esi aizmidzis. Tomēr saturiski šī ir ļoti izzinoša un laba grāmata, ja jāgūst ieskats sirreālisma virzienā. Ja jums sirreālisms nepatīk, bet gribat sevi izglītot, tad šī būs īstā grāmata - labi sastrukturēta, plaša informācija, daudz vizuālo darbu piemēru un tas viss koncentrētā, nelielā formātā.
January 21, 2022
Ein schmaler, reich bebilderter Band über die Kunstrichtung, die mich vermutlich am meisten fasziniert, obschon „Abstrakte Kunst“ noch etwas mehr zu mir spricht. Ermöglicht einen kurzen, knappen Abriss, eine Einführung in die Thematik. Wenn man also schon viel weiß, bringt einem dieser Band womöglich nicht viel Neues.
Für mich war der Band aktuell genau richtig, weil es viel an Einzelfakten geordnet hat. Das fehlt mir ganz häufig bei Sachthemen, die mich interessieren. Habe lauter unnützes Wissen über bestimmte Künstler:innen und Kunstobjekte/Gemälde, aber hatte mir bisher keine abgerundete kleine Geschichte des Surrealismus erschlossen.
Ich würde solch einem Werk niemals Oberflächlichkeit vorwerfen, denn es wird seinem Anspruch absolut gerecht und auf knapp 170 Seiten haben wir dermaßen viele Bilder/Abdrucke der verschiedenen Kunstwerke, das es einfach anschaulich ist.
Außerdem: große Magritte-Liebe (allein das Cover)! ♥
Für mich war der Band aktuell genau richtig, weil es viel an Einzelfakten geordnet hat. Das fehlt mir ganz häufig bei Sachthemen, die mich interessieren. Habe lauter unnützes Wissen über bestimmte Künstler:innen und Kunstobjekte/Gemälde, aber hatte mir bisher keine abgerundete kleine Geschichte des Surrealismus erschlossen.
Ich würde solch einem Werk niemals Oberflächlichkeit vorwerfen, denn es wird seinem Anspruch absolut gerecht und auf knapp 170 Seiten haben wir dermaßen viele Bilder/Abdrucke der verschiedenen Kunstwerke, das es einfach anschaulich ist.
Außerdem: große Magritte-Liebe (allein das Cover)! ♥
December 31, 2023
Idomi, trumpai ir aiškiai paiškinamas siurrealistinio meno pasaulis
December 21, 2022
"The work of Surrealism can never be conclusive. It is more of an exploration, a journey, and a struggle. Paintings are signposts. To find where they lead I will have to carry on following them despite the continual obstacles that block the way. For that reason I will remain on my quest for surrealism until my last breath."
(Conroy Maddox, British surrealist painter)
Some of the new and interesting things I have learnt about Surrealism and Surrealists from this book was the information on the various techniques the Surrealists developped and have used used, such as
automatic drawing, collage, fumage, frottage, decalcomania, grattage and brûlage.
(Conroy Maddox, British surrealist painter)
Some of the new and interesting things I have learnt about Surrealism and Surrealists from this book was the information on the various techniques the Surrealists developped and have used used, such as
automatic drawing, collage, fumage, frottage, decalcomania, grattage and brûlage.
June 21, 2020
surrealizmus vás môže pobaviť, môže vás šokovať, pohoršiť, ale jedno je isté: nebudete ho môcť ignorovať.
táto knižka ako vynikajúca ochutnávka sveta surrealizmu. sprevádzajú vás obrazy rozličných autorov, manifesty, fotografie a priaznivým jazykom napísané texty. oboznámenie s filozofiou i technikami, autentické citácie a príjemný vizuál. naozaj pekne spracovaný vstup do sveta snov.
chuťovka na pár dní, veľmi odporúčam !🧡
táto knižka ako vynikajúca ochutnávka sveta surrealizmu. sprevádzajú vás obrazy rozličných autorov, manifesty, fotografie a priaznivým jazykom napísané texty. oboznámenie s filozofiou i technikami, autentické citácie a príjemný vizuál. naozaj pekne spracovaný vstup do sveta snov.
chuťovka na pár dní, veľmi odporúčam !🧡
May 17, 2021
A good overview of Surrealism, if not very in-depth (which it doesn't claim, so aaaall good).
June 9, 2023
good soup #artstudent
June 27, 2022
I feel that art is often highly underrated, even among intellectuals or creative people. Not only as a means of expression but to understand ourselves and the world. I've always been both fascinated and disappointed in 20th-century art. Sometimes mindblown at the creativity, and sometimes dumbfounded at what appears to be overly abstract pieces without any substance. Surrealism fits this picture, and I figured it would serve as a good study.
I knew little about surrealism except recognizing its most famous paintings, such as Dali's The Persistence of Memory (clocks melting in a dessert-like background), so I had close to zero knowledge about it. The book begins with what started surrealism as a movement: André Breton with his manifesto in 1924. A fair bit of focus was given to this early start which I found important.
The movement was a reaction to World War I and was deeply influenced by the Dada movement. It was in opposition to rational thought (or at least, excessive rational thought) which supposedly was the cultural environment that was created or fueled by illness that mankind was suffering, one so large that is started such a horrible war and made hell on Earth.
The major theme of surrealist paintings is a world of fantasy and creativity, unfiltered through society and values. The goal was to have "raw" art that was pre-rational since that was the true nature of thought. It very often had an erotic motif as well, likely influenced by Freud (I was surprised at how old surrealism is at this point, close to 100 years ago while I felt like only a few decades old).
One technique that illustrates the goal of pre-rational art was automatic drawing, where the early sketch is painted quasi-randomly, with as little conscious control as possible, before adding final touches.
I enjoyed learning about the cultural environment of what led to the creation and growth of surrealism, which I find the most important. While this applies to almost every movement, it certainly went well beyond just a specific type of art, but it was a whole way of viewing the world, and in some sense to change the world. It also covered the wider influences of surrealism beyond painting, such as a photography and film. Which while very obvious, is not something I expected and it was enjoyable to learn about.
The book was well structured, although I felt overly historical. For instance, a fair bit of attention was paid to specific galleries and expositions. While certainly important for the movement to develop, it's not something I get anything out of.
I expected more analysis of the art itself and specific paintings, they rarely got more than a sentence or two. Furthermore, I also hoped for this to be an opportunity to discover new and exciting surrealist paintings that I saw before. However that was largely a disappointment, out of 100 illustrations, perhaps only a couple of them drew me in. While I wanted mostly to benefit from its cultural and philosophical meaning, nevertheless I can't help to be disappointed at the average artwork, even though a few are undoubtedly excellent.
Despite the minor disillusionments above, I still found it worthwhile. I have a richer understanding of not only the art movement but its surrounding history. The book was very easy to read, only taking a few hours to finish. If you want to learn more about surrealism it's a good resource, although expect a large focus on its history and little analysis of the artworks themselves.
I knew little about surrealism except recognizing its most famous paintings, such as Dali's The Persistence of Memory (clocks melting in a dessert-like background), so I had close to zero knowledge about it. The book begins with what started surrealism as a movement: André Breton with his manifesto in 1924. A fair bit of focus was given to this early start which I found important.
The movement was a reaction to World War I and was deeply influenced by the Dada movement. It was in opposition to rational thought (or at least, excessive rational thought) which supposedly was the cultural environment that was created or fueled by illness that mankind was suffering, one so large that is started such a horrible war and made hell on Earth.
The major theme of surrealist paintings is a world of fantasy and creativity, unfiltered through society and values. The goal was to have "raw" art that was pre-rational since that was the true nature of thought. It very often had an erotic motif as well, likely influenced by Freud (I was surprised at how old surrealism is at this point, close to 100 years ago while I felt like only a few decades old).
One technique that illustrates the goal of pre-rational art was automatic drawing, where the early sketch is painted quasi-randomly, with as little conscious control as possible, before adding final touches.
I enjoyed learning about the cultural environment of what led to the creation and growth of surrealism, which I find the most important. While this applies to almost every movement, it certainly went well beyond just a specific type of art, but it was a whole way of viewing the world, and in some sense to change the world. It also covered the wider influences of surrealism beyond painting, such as a photography and film. Which while very obvious, is not something I expected and it was enjoyable to learn about.
The book was well structured, although I felt overly historical. For instance, a fair bit of attention was paid to specific galleries and expositions. While certainly important for the movement to develop, it's not something I get anything out of.
I expected more analysis of the art itself and specific paintings, they rarely got more than a sentence or two. Furthermore, I also hoped for this to be an opportunity to discover new and exciting surrealist paintings that I saw before. However that was largely a disappointment, out of 100 illustrations, perhaps only a couple of them drew me in. While I wanted mostly to benefit from its cultural and philosophical meaning, nevertheless I can't help to be disappointed at the average artwork, even though a few are undoubtedly excellent.
Despite the minor disillusionments above, I still found it worthwhile. I have a richer understanding of not only the art movement but its surrounding history. The book was very easy to read, only taking a few hours to finish. If you want to learn more about surrealism it's a good resource, although expect a large focus on its history and little analysis of the artworks themselves.
June 21, 2022
Introductorio y fácil de leer desde un nivel básico, pero útil e interesante para un público más especializado.
Me ha gustado mucho porque explica de una forma sencilla y directa lo que es el surrealismo, cómo se desarrolló en su contexto y el impacto que ha tenido en el arte posterior. Lo hace de tal forma que cualquier persona que no tenga demasiada idea del tema pueda entenderlo.
Pero también organiza la información de una manera que resulta muy útil si sabes más del tema o si necesitas la información para trabajo o estudios más específicos. Para esto último he encontrado especialmente útil la recopilación de datos en forma de lista: artistas, localizaciones, exposiciones, centros de arte con obra surrealista, etc.
La única cosa que echo en falta es que a pesar de que introduce los nombres de muchas mujeres surrealistas, no se toma su obra como ejemplo para hablar del movimiento (cosa que sí se hace con sus análogos masculinos).
Me ha gustado mucho porque explica de una forma sencilla y directa lo que es el surrealismo, cómo se desarrolló en su contexto y el impacto que ha tenido en el arte posterior. Lo hace de tal forma que cualquier persona que no tenga demasiada idea del tema pueda entenderlo.
Pero también organiza la información de una manera que resulta muy útil si sabes más del tema o si necesitas la información para trabajo o estudios más específicos. Para esto último he encontrado especialmente útil la recopilación de datos en forma de lista: artistas, localizaciones, exposiciones, centros de arte con obra surrealista, etc.
La única cosa que echo en falta es que a pesar de que introduce los nombres de muchas mujeres surrealistas, no se toma su obra como ejemplo para hablar del movimiento (cosa que sí se hace con sus análogos masculinos).
January 3, 2026
Left good impression of an art handbook. Not just a list of facts, but a retelling of the distinctive features of the style that put an end to the realistic tradition of art schools and opened the door to the infinity of beauty beyond form and function.
Элементы сюрреалистичного есть и в Маленьком Принце Экзюпери. Совпадает и время и фокус со шляпой и слоном. Микки Маус - продукт школы сюрреализма. Настольная игра диксит - прямой потомок. Все творчество Тарковского там же.
Примечательно, что появление сюрреализма было реакцией на Первую Мировую войну, когда логика и рациональное дискредитировали себя перед человеком. Воображение, выход за рамки, экспериментирование всех со всем и всегда, детские фантазии и бред больных - вот, что движет искусство, питает разум и отличает человека от машины своей неосознанностью. Пропитанной крайней степенью символизма так, как объяснял это Фрейд, но ещё не в виде чистой абстракции - истинного искусства.
Элементы сюрреалистичного есть и в Маленьком Принце Экзюпери. Совпадает и время и фокус со шляпой и слоном. Микки Маус - продукт школы сюрреализма. Настольная игра диксит - прямой потомок. Все творчество Тарковского там же.
Примечательно, что появление сюрреализма было реакцией на Первую Мировую войну, когда логика и рациональное дискредитировали себя перед человеком. Воображение, выход за рамки, экспериментирование всех со всем и всегда, детские фантазии и бред больных - вот, что движет искусство, питает разум и отличает человека от машины своей неосознанностью. Пропитанной крайней степенью символизма так, как объяснял это Фрейд, но ещё не в виде чистой абстракции - истинного искусства.
April 13, 2021
4,75 (🌕)
Me ha gustado bastante, y aunque no profundice en todo, está bastante completo y abarca mucho. Me ha servido para aprender alguna cosilla nueva y refrescar muchísimos conceptos y temas que estudié en la uni.
Es un libro apto para todos, tanto para los que estudian y han estudiado historia del arte, como para todo aquel amante del estilo. No abusa de los tecnicismo y los que hay están todos muy bien explicados. Es claro y conciso. La verdad es que lo he disfrutado mucho, sobre todo porque es uno de mis estilos preferidos.
Si no le pongo las cinco estrellas es porque me ha costado mucho leerlo, el tamaño de la letra es demasiado pequeño, en cuanto lo abrí entendí porque tiene un precio tan asequible, y es que además de ser bastante breve, la letra es minúscula, hasta con las gafas me costó leer. Pero por lo demás todo perfecto, las imágenes tienen muy buena calidad.
Me ha gustado bastante, y aunque no profundice en todo, está bastante completo y abarca mucho. Me ha servido para aprender alguna cosilla nueva y refrescar muchísimos conceptos y temas que estudié en la uni.
Es un libro apto para todos, tanto para los que estudian y han estudiado historia del arte, como para todo aquel amante del estilo. No abusa de los tecnicismo y los que hay están todos muy bien explicados. Es claro y conciso. La verdad es que lo he disfrutado mucho, sobre todo porque es uno de mis estilos preferidos.
Si no le pongo las cinco estrellas es porque me ha costado mucho leerlo, el tamaño de la letra es demasiado pequeño, en cuanto lo abrí entendí porque tiene un precio tan asequible, y es que además de ser bastante breve, la letra es minúscula, hasta con las gafas me costó leer. Pero por lo demás todo perfecto, las imágenes tienen muy buena calidad.
April 18, 2024
Surreal art appeals to some part of my subconscious. The bizarre objects and dream realms of Dalí, Magritte and Ernst scratch hidden itches in my brain.
In this book Dempsey provided an overview of the surrealist movement’s peak which roughly began and ended with André Breton (~1920-1980). There were lots of welcome pictures of the artworks showing how the movement evolved.
I was hoping for a deeper dive into the interpretation of individual works but it seems in general surrealism has movement-defined themes.
The book introduced me to new artists to appreciate and books to read. I’ll keep it to flip through the pictures, but probably won’t read it again.
Bought at the MONA gift shop, Hobart.
In this book Dempsey provided an overview of the surrealist movement’s peak which roughly began and ended with André Breton (~1920-1980). There were lots of welcome pictures of the artworks showing how the movement evolved.
I was hoping for a deeper dive into the interpretation of individual works but it seems in general surrealism has movement-defined themes.
The book introduced me to new artists to appreciate and books to read. I’ll keep it to flip through the pictures, but probably won’t read it again.
Bought at the MONA gift shop, Hobart.
June 25, 2019
I find surrealism incredibly interesting, and this was a very factual book.
but.
I found it so.
b.o.r.i.n.g.
Which is a bummer, but what can ya do?
I skipped through a lot of the book to be honest.
If you're looking for some hard facts and lots and lots of names, this is the book for you.
My rating : 2 1/2 stars
but.
I found it so.
b.o.r.i.n.g.
Which is a bummer, but what can ya do?
I skipped through a lot of the book to be honest.
If you're looking for some hard facts and lots and lots of names, this is the book for you.
My rating : 2 1/2 stars
February 5, 2021
This book gives a great overview of surrealism- the founders, their subject matter, their philosophies, and how it is incorporated into contemporary artwork. I am most attracted to surrealism because of its exploration of dreams intertwined with reality. It was helpful to read why surrealists made the choices that they did, especially in the realms of art and literature.
August 3, 2025
Nice guide. It toches on many different aspects and topics regarding Surrealism as a literary and artistic movement. I particularly enjoyed the first chapter as it really glossed over the beginning of this movement and all the different motivations that fostered its existence. However, at some points it felt dull and the information was unclear and poorly structured.
March 5, 2024
Me gusto bastante, es muy claro en todas los conceptos y abarca muchos temas. Da muchos ejemplos muy buenos con imágenes de muy buena calidad.
Me hubiera gustado que se desarrollara más sobre algunas temas.
Me hubiera gustado que se desarrollara más sobre algunas temas.
January 3, 2026
More of a comprehensive historical timeline than an in-depth theoretical study. Too many names of places and people and not enough theory and analysis. Still, a good introductory overview with lots of pictures of the art. I loved Man Ray's Anatomies and Dora Maar's Le Simulateur.
May 3, 2019
A review / description of an artist movement.
A few of the pieces / sections of this book were interesting, but much of it was not very good.
Reading / viewing time around ninety minutes.
A few of the pieces / sections of this book were interesting, but much of it was not very good.
Reading / viewing time around ninety minutes.
November 23, 2020
Excellent, concise introduction to Surrealism.
May 4, 2022
3.5 A rendszerezés néha borzasztó volt, de összességében tetszett
October 2, 2024
Good for reference and info.
February 11, 2026
first book of 2026 lets gooo gang! man ļoti patika, forša grāmatiņa, labi lasījās, sulīgas bildes. very cool very cool. skaists un pamācošs ieskats sirreālisma mākslā un vēsturē. mīlu.
August 4, 2023
She even mentioned Romanian artists 😭
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews