irréalistes

Irrealistes is a label used by critics to describe artists and writers who move away from conventional realism toward representations that emphasize unreality, dreamlike perception, or the instability of the perceived world. It is not a single, formal movement with a shared manifesto; rather, it functions as a descriptive category applied across periods and media, including painting, literature, and cinema.

Key features of irreéalistes include a focus on subjective experience, ambiguity, and the breakdown of straightforward causality in depiction. Practitioners employ techniques such as juxtaposition of incongruent elements, elliptical or non-linear narratives, fragmented composition, and imagery that unsettles ordinary perception. The goal is often to reveal how reality can be provisional or porous rather than to reproduce the world exactly as it appears.

Historically, the term has appeared in French criticism since the late 19th century and has resurfaced in discussions of modernism and avant-garde practices. Irrealistes are distinct from but sometimes overlapping with surrealists; while both explore dimensions beyond common sense, irreéalistes typically refrain from the psychoanalytic aims central to surrealism and focus more on perceptual unreliability and the uncanny nature of everyday scenes.

As a flexible descriptor rather than a formal school, irreéalistes have influenced analyses of modernist shifts away from naturalistic representation. Works labeled irrealistes are often cited for foregrounding dream logic, perceptual doubt, or the presence of unseen forces shaping experience, rather than for advocating a specific theoretical program.