Surrealism

Surrealists shared some Dadaist ideas, but they set out to be better organised and more relevant to the real world. Andre Breton, the unifying figure and charismatic leader, who over the next two decades would co-ordinate activities and rally the troops, envisaged a movement that could really make a difference. Surrealism would not only embrace art and literature but would also play a part, as the "First Manifesto" put it, in "solving all the principal problems of life". It would affect every aspect of existence and bring about social and psychological change.