In the aftermath of World War I, artists and intellectuals felt that rationalism and bourgeois values had led humanity to catastrophe. Drawing from the destructive nihilism of Dadaism but seeking a more constructive path forward, the French writer and poet André Breton published the 'Manifesto of Surrealism' (Manifeste du surréalisme) in Paris in 1924. This text serves as the official founding document of Surrealism, which became one of the most influential intellectual and artistic movements of the 20th century.

In the manifesto, Breton defined Surrealism as 'pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express — verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner — the actual functioning of thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.' Heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories, the Surrealists believed that the subconscious mind was the true source of creative freedom and truth. The goal of art was to bypass rational filters and release the raw imagery of the subconscious, dreams, and desires.

Surrealism rapidly expanded from literature into visual arts, sculpture, and cinema. Painters such as Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Yves Tanguy employed various techniques — such as automatic drawing or juxtaposing unrelated objects in bizarre, dream-like landscapes — to challenge logical reality. Ultimately, Surrealism was not merely an art style but a revolutionary philosophy aiming to liberate human imagination, transform perception, and liberate society from the confines of rationalism.