Abstract

Many people associate Surrealism with politics but it was also permeated by occult ideas, a fact often overlooked by art historians. This fascinating book concerns itself with magical subculture and the central role it played in the development of a great art movement. It also shows how many surrealists and their predecessors were steeped in magical ideas: Kandinsky, with his involvement in Theosophy; the sorcery of Salvador Dali; the alchemy of Pablo Picasso, and; the Shamanism of Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington.