Surrealism never quite lost its grip on the public imagination. There’s much to love about an art movement built on dreams, the unconscious, and the strange logic of things that shouldn’t quite fit together. Here are five places across Europe where you can acquaint yourself with the movement up close, from the museum Dalí built as his very own surrealist masterpiece to the quiet Brussels apartment where Magritte painted for over two decades.
Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres
The Dalí Theatre-Museum is an absolute must-see. Dalí conceived and designed the museum himself on the remains of his hometown’s former theatre, so the building serves as the artist’s largest surrealist work of art. The museum’s collection runs from his early experiments through Surrealism to his later career, including spaces created specifically for the museum such as the Mae West Room, where arranged art pieces and furniture form an optical illusion of the actress’s face.
View this post on Instagram
Magritte Museum in Brussels
An essential one on every surrealism aficionado’s list. The Magritte Museum in Brussels holds the world’s largest collection of René Magritte, with over 230 works and archival objects spanning paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs and film. Prepare to witness wonderful masterpieces including The Return, Scheherazade and The Empire of Lights. The museum also offers an explanation as to why Brussels became such an important centre for Surrealism outside Paris.
View this post on Instagram
René Magritte Museum in Brussels
That’s right, this is another Magritte special – not the same museum. This one is Magritte’s former home at 135 Rue Esseghem, where he lived and worked from 1930 to 1954. The ground floor apartment has been reconstructed, while the rest of the museum traces his life through artworks, photographs, letters and other documents.
View this post on Instagram
Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice
This collection encompasses broader movements than just Surrealism, but Peggy Guggenheim assembled an exceptionally important group of Surrealist works. The collection includes artists such as Max Ernst, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy and Alberto Giacometti; currently listed works include Ernst’s Attirement of the Bride and Magritte’s Empire of Light.
View this post on Instagram
Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona
Set on Barcelona’s hill of Montjuïc, the Joan Miró Foundation holds an extensive collection tracing the Catalan artist’s long career. Miró became closely associated with the Surrealists in Paris in the 1920s, but never fully confined himself to the movement, developing a distinctive language of dreamlike symbols and abstraction that can be explored at the museum.
View this post on Instagram
