Not always as realistic as a photograph, magic realism has developed as a post-war artistic style, with ambiguous ideas and details.
After German expressionism, magic realism began to manifest itself, but without a coherent group of artists. A concept developed slowly, first in Europe and then in America, with an emphasis on the underlying emotions, it evolved as a style of figurative painting, with ordinary scenes mixed with fanciful elements concealing enigmatic or unexpected ideas. Many paintings were brightly colored, and some conveyed a strange or mysterious atmosphere. Like expressionism, magic realism explored emotions, moving away from abstractions and distortions.

The term magic realism was coined by writer Franz Roh to describe certain paintings during an exhibition in Mannheim in 1925 entitled "Die Neue Sachlichkeit" (The New Objectivity). Clearly representing the real world, not all paintings are particularly realistic and some have a rather naive style, but all have elaborate details, clear contours and subtle and secondary meanings. Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) and the metaphysical paintings of Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) were important influences. The movement had a strong influence on Surrealism.

Without a manifesto or organized group, the magical realists worked in isolation. In the 1930s, the Depression and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany prevented the movement from developing there. However, this continued in other parts of the world, notably in the Americas, which remained far from European events.

PRINCIPAL ARTISTS: EDWARD HOPPER • ANDREW WYETH • GEORGE TOOKER • FRIDA KAHLO • COLLEEN BROWNING