Dali, Magritte, Ernst? Which Surrealist are You?

Do you have a penchant for facial hair? Do you like to go against the grain and think differently from everyone else? And do you have a fascination with reincarnation? 

Born in Catalonia, in 1904, Dalí discovered avant-garde art early on in life and, by the early 1920s, was already experimenting with cubism and futurism. Unlike most other Surrealists, Dalí wasn’t a communist. In fact, he had fascist sympathies and supported General Franco. Over the years, he created a number of incredibly famous works including The Persistence of Memory and the logo for Chupa Chups. 

Are you your own muse? Do you see the extraordinary in the ordinary? And do you like to challenge people’s perception of reality?

The hugely influential surrealist was born in Belgium in 1898. Many of his works combine realistic imagery with mind-bending surprises, forcing the viewer to look a little more closely and re-examine their preconceptions. Like many of his paintings, Magritte’s most famous work, The Son of Man, is actually a self-portrait. 

Do you like to defy expectations and refuse to be labelled? Are you interested in the subconscious mind? Do you see beauty in child-like expressionism?

Painter, sculptor and ceramicist Joan Miró was born in Barcelona in 1893. His work has been described as Fauvism and Expressionism as well as Surrealism. A large number of Miró’s images take their inspiration from the subconscious and he persisted on using ‘child-like’ techniques, like finger painting, well into his 80s. 

Do you have a fascination with birds? Do you admire the work of Freud and take inspiration from childhood memories? 

A pioneer of Surrealism, Max Ernst was born in Germany in 1891. Although not formally trained as an artist, his innovative ideas and playful approach made him a leader in several art movements and allowed him to invent a number of different techniques. His paintings often feature birds or bird-like creatures, something he was fascinated with his entire life.

Do you like to cultivate an air of mystery around yourself? Are you an early-adopter of new technologies? Do you like the idea of inventions being named in your honor?

As well as contributing to the Surrealist movement, Man Ray was a noted fashion and portrait photographer. He experimented extensively with photograms, something that he like to call ‘Rayographs’ after himself. Man Ray also discovered solarization when working with Lee Miller. This process reverses the tones of a photo, giving the image an uncanny appearance.