Surrealism and the Sacred: Power, Eros and the Occult in Modern Art

From archaic fetishism, found objects, dream images and free association, Surrealist artists and writers—such as Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Meret Oppenheim and Wolfgang Paalen – transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary by deliberately evoking the ambivalence of sacred power. Surrealism and the Sacred traces the conflict between the secular and sacred forces from prehistory and paganism through the Renaissance and the occult revival of the 19th century to the Surrealist movement of the 20th century. Against the tyranny of reason and the European bourgeoisie, Surrealists drew from occultism, Asian religions and mysticism, and psychoanalysis to create an uncanny and creative state of mind that continues to have a profound effect on the modern imagination. This remarkable book challenges conventional assumptions about modern art and its larger meanings in the history of knowledge.