I used this website to research Surrealism because I was really interested in this style.

 http://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm

surrealism – a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images. Surrealist artists use the unconscious to enhance the imagination as a tool for their artwork. They believed that the rational mind repressed the power of the imagination. Many Surrealists are influenced by Karl Marx. They hoped that they could reveal the contradictions in the everyday world  and create revolution.

Surrealism grew out of the Dadaism movement, which was a also repelling middle-class ideas. The most influential character for Surrealists was  Giorgio de Chirico.

Surrealism shared a lot of anti-rationalism of Dada. The original Parisian Surrealists used art as a get away from violent political situations. They used it to address the unease they felt about the world. They explored fantasy and dream