Magical realism, also called magic realism or marvellous realism, is a style of writing and art that shows the real world while including magical or unusual elements. This style often makes it hard to tell where real life ends and imagination begins. The term "magical realism" is most often used to describe literature, especially stories that include magical or supernatural events in a normal, everyday setting. These stories are commonly found in novels and plays.
In an article titled "Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature," Luis Leal explains that magical realism is not the same as magic literature. He says that magical realism aims to show feelings and ideas, not just create a sense of wonder. Even though it includes magical parts, it is different from fantasy because magical realism uses many real details and uses magic to make a point about the real world. Fantasy stories, on the other hand, are usually more separated from real life.
Magical realism is also closer to literary fiction than to fantasy, which is a type of genre fiction. This style mixes real and magical ideas to create a writing form that includes both literary realism and fantasy elements.
Description
The term "magic realism" is used to describe a type of writing, but it is not always clearly defined. Matthew Strecher (1999) explains that magic realism happens when a story that seems very real is suddenly filled with events that are too strange to believe. This term can be confusing because many writers are labeled as magical realists even though their work may not fit the same style. The term was inspired by a German and Italian art style from the 1920s, which was also called "magic realism." In The Art of Fiction, British writer and critic David Lodge describes magic realism as a style where amazing or impossible events happen in a story that otherwise tries to be realistic. This style is especially connected to modern Latin American writing, such as the work of Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. It is also found in books from other parts of the world, like those by Günter Grass, Salman Rushdie, and Milan Kundera. These writers often experience major historical changes or personal challenges, which they believe cannot be fully shown in stories that stick strictly to real life. Kundera’s 1979 novel The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is an example of this style. Michiko Kakutani notes that in Latin American fiction, the mix of the strange and the everyday reflects a reality where the unusual is often part of daily life. Magic realism often combines real history with fantasy, as seen in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, where children born at the moment of India’s independence in 1947 are magically connected through telepathy.
Irene Guenther (1995) explains that the term "magic realism" first appeared in Germany alongside the name "Neue Sachlichkeit" (or "New Objectivity") and connects earlier magic realist art to later magic realist writing. However, despite this German background, magic realism is most closely linked to Latin American literature, with key writers like Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Jorge Luis Borges, and others. In English literature, important writers include Neil Gaiman, Salman Rushdie, Alice Hoffman, and others. In Russian literature, notable authors are Mikhail Bulgakov and Andrei Sinyavsky. In Bengali literature, writers like Nabarun Bhattacharya and Akhteruzzaman Elias are known for this style. In Kannada literature, Shivaram Karanth and Devanur Mahadeva use magic realism in their works. In Japanese literature, Haruki Murakami is a major figure. In Chinese literature, Mo Yan, a 2012 Nobel Prize winner for his "hallucinatory realism," is well-known. In Polish literature, Olga Tokarczuk, a 2018 Nobel Prize winner, represents magic realism.
Etymology and literary origins
In the 1800s, Romantic writers like E. T. A. Hoffmann and Nikolai Gogol helped start a trend in Romanticism that blended fantasy and reality. This style, called "European magical realism," showed how imaginary worlds often seemed to mix with the real world. Anatoly Lunacharsky said:
Hoffmann was different from other Romantics because he used satire. He noticed small details in everyday life and people around him with great care. His stories often felt like detailed drawings of real life, but he also created stories that felt like nightmares, like Gogol’s Portrait. Gogol was influenced by Hoffmann, especially in stories like Portrait and The Nose. In these works, Hoffmann and Gogol mixed scary dreams with more hopeful beginnings. Hoffmann’s stories, like The Nutcracker and The Royal Bride, showed a kind and creative side, making them perfect for children.
Philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev and poet Andrei Bely used the term "mystical realism" in a book published in 1907. They described it as a style that mixes realism with spiritual ideas, focusing on the writer’s personal beliefs rather than religious rules. They pointed to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s later works, like The Brothers Karamazov, as examples. In this book, characters like Ivan Karamazov and Smerdyakov interact with the devil in ways that go beyond real life and enter a more spiritual world. They also noted similar themes in other books, such as Demons, Crime and Punishment, and The Idiot. Other writers linked to this style include Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, and Leo Tolstoy. Academic Ceylan Özdemir said "mystical realism" is not the same as "magical realism," but it shares some religious ideas.
In 2009, Alexandra Berlina wrote that Viktor Shklovsky’s 1918 essay, Art as a Device; Theory of Prose, discussed ideas similar to magical realism before the term was widely used. Shklovsky focused on how Tolstoy’s story Kholstomer made familiar things seem strange, using a horse as the narrator.
In 1932, Serge Charchoune wrote about "magical realism" in an article, saying his work used symbols and blurred the line between reality and magic, following Edmond Jaloux’s ideas. Critic Gleb Struve later said writers like himself, Gaito Gazdanov, Irina Odoyevtseva, and Nina Berberova showed magical realism in their work. Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (written in 1928 and 1940, published in 1966–1967) was called a major work of magical realism. It continued the styles of Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy and showed a different path of magical realism from the Latin American tradition.
The term "magical realism" first appeared in German as magischer Realismus. In 1925, art critic Franz Roh used it to describe a painting style called Neue Sachlichkeit ("New Objectivity"), which was an alternative to expressionism. Roh said magical realism focused on realistic details and showed the strange, magical side of the modern world. He believed it was different from surrealism because magical realism focused on real objects, while surrealism focused on dreams and the subconscious.
German magical realism influenced Italian writer Massimo Bontempelli, who is considered the first to use it in writing. In 1926, he started a magazine called 900. Novecento and inspired writers like Johan Daisne and Hubert Lampo in Belgium.
Roh’s ideas also reached Hispanic America, where the term became realismo mágico. Venezuelan writer Arturo Uslar-Pietri, who knew Bontempelli, wrote magical-realist stories in the 1920s and 1930s. Luis Leal said Uslar-Pietri might have been the first to use realismo mágico in literature in 1948. Mexican writer Elena Garro used the term to describe E. T. A. Hoffmann’s work but did not consider her own writing part of the genre. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier, who disliked Roh’s style, created his own idea called lo real maravilloso ("marvelous realism") in 1949. This style mixes practical views of life with magical elements.
Magical realism was later used to describe the strange, realistic art of American painters like Ivan Albright and George Tooker in the 1940s and 1950s. Unlike literary magical realism, their art often showed ordinary things in a strange, realistic way.
The term "magical realism" first appeared in 1955 in an essay by critic Angel Flores, who linked it to both magical and marvelous realism. Flores said Jorge Luis Borges was the first magical realist but did not credit Carpentier or Uslar-Pietri for spreading the idea in Latin America. After Flores’s essay, magical realism became more popular, especially after the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
Magical realism began in Latin America. Writers often traveled to Europe, where they were influenced by art movements like Surrealism. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier and Venezuelan writer Arturo Uslar-Pietri were inspired by Surrealism during their time in Paris. A key moment was when Franz Roh’s book was translated into Spanish in 1927 by Spain’s Revista de Occidente, edited by José Ortega y Gasset. This helped spread the idea of magical realism in literature.
Characteristics
The features of magical realism in a text can vary. Each text is unique and uses some of the qualities listed here. These qualities correctly describe what readers might expect from a magical realism story.
Magical realism presents magical events in a realistic way. It connects old stories, myths, and legends to modern life. Characters may have abilities like floating, reading minds, or moving objects with their thoughts. These magical traits help show how real-world political issues can feel strange or confusing.
Magical realism is based on the idea that magical things can exist in the everyday world. Writers do not create new worlds but instead show the magic that already exists in the real world, as seen in Gabriel García Márquez’s famous book One Hundred Years of Solitude. In magical realism, the supernatural and the normal world mix. For the characters in these stories, events that seem strange, like an angel falling from the sky, are treated as normal.
Authorial reticence means the writer does not explain strange or unusual events. The story moves forward as if nothing unusual happened, with clear and logical details. Magical events are treated as everyday occurrences, so readers accept them as normal.
In his essay The Baroque and the Marvelous Real, Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier describes the baroque style as having no empty spaces, breaking from strict rules, and having many confusing details. He contrasts this with the work of artist Mondrian. Carpentier sees the baroque as a mix of elements, which fits well with the culture of Latin America, as shown in his book The Kingdom of This World. He writes that the mixing of different cultures in the Americas, such as Aztec temples and Nahuatl poetry, creates the "marvelous real." This term means something extraordinary or strange, not necessarily beautiful. This layered style, seen in books like One Hundred Years of Solitude, aims to show the full complexity of the Americas.
Magical realism stories often take place in settings where different realities overlap, such as in places that mix urban and rural life or Western and indigenous cultures.
This style focuses on the reader’s role in a story. It explores how fiction affects real life and how real life influences fiction. It also shows how readers connect the story to their own world. This makes it useful for discussing social or political issues. It also helps create a phenomenon called "textualization," where a character in the story becomes aware they are reading, or the story’s world affects the reader’s real world. Magic allows this to happen, even though it might seem confusing.
Magical realism often avoids explaining its magical elements or hides parts of the story, creating confusion and mystery. For example, when reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, readers must let go of usual story rules, like linear time or clear explanations, to understand the deeper meanings. Writer Luis Leal describes this as trying to "seize the mystery behind things."
Magical realism often criticizes society, especially powerful groups. In Latin America, this style challenges the traditional ideas of literature that focus on wealthy or dominant cultures. It is especially for people on the edges of society, such as those who are poor, geographically isolated, or socially excluded. This "alternative world" in magical realism helps correct the views of dominant groups. Magical realism texts are often seen as rebellious against powerful forces. However, some powerful groups might use magical realism to avoid being associated with their own control.
In his doctoral thesis Magical Insurrections: Cultural Resistance and the Magic Realist Novel in Latin America (University of Essex, 1996), William Spindler argues that Latin American magical realism novels often show cultural resistance. This resistance comes from popular culture that challenges dominant ideas. His thesis examines five books: Men of Maize by Miguel Angel Asturias, The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier, Deep Rivers by Jose Maria Arguedas, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, and Daimón by Abel Posse. Other Latin American texts are also compared. The thesis looks at how magical realism connects to cultural resistance, language, power, and popular culture, which Spindler calls the "political economy" of magical realism.
In his review of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Salman Rushdie says that magical realism allows political ideas to be expressed in ways that other literary forms might not. He writes that magical realism, as practiced by Márquez, comes from Surrealism and reflects the experiences of people in developing countries. These societies face struggles between old traditions and modern changes, with public and personal problems that are more extreme than in wealthier nations. In Márquez’s stories, strange things happen regularly, as if they are normal in the world he describes.
Major topics in criticism
Mexican critic Luis Leal explained the challenge of defining magical realism by saying, "If you can explain it, then it's not magical realism." He described magical realism as an attitude characters in a novel have toward the world or nature, rather than a specific concept.
Leal and Guenther both reference Arturo Uslar-Pietri, who described humans as mysteries surrounded by real facts. He called magical realism a "poetic prediction or denial of reality," a term used when there is no better name.
The idea that magical realism creates tension between reality and the unusual comes from Western readers who are unfamiliar with mythology, a foundation of magical realism more familiar to non-Western cultures. Western confusion about magical realism arises because magical realist texts do not explain reality using natural or physical laws, as typical Western texts do. Instead, they create a reality where events, characters, and settings are not based on physical laws or accepted by traditional ideas.
Guatemalan author William Spindler wrote an article titled "Magic Realism: A Typology," suggesting there are three types of magic realism, though they are not always separate.
Spindler's classification has been criticized for trying to define magical realism as a cultural project linked to non-modern societies where myth and magic still exist. Some argue that Western thinking models may not fully describe Western perspectives, and that both magical realism and other forms of knowledge can coexist.
Alejo Carpentier created the term lo real maravilloso (meaning "the marvelous real") in the prologue to his novel The Kingdom of This World (1949). Some debate whether Carpentier is a magical realist or simply an inspiration for the style. Maggie Bowers says he is widely recognized as the founder of Latin American magical realism, both as a writer and critic. She explains that Carpentier's idea is a heightened reality where miraculous events seem natural. By separating his work from the visual style of painterly magic realism, Carpentier showed how Latin America's history, geography, and beliefs make impossible or amazing events possible. He believed Latin America is a land of marvels, and writing about it naturally creates a literature of "marvelous reality."
The term "marvelous" can be confused with magical realism because both include supernatural events that are not surprising to the implied author. In both, these events are normal and accepted. However, the "marvelous" is a one-dimensional world where everything is already supernatural, like in fairy tales. Readers know this world is different from their own. Magical realism, in contrast, blends the supernatural with the natural, familiar world, creating two layers of reality (bidimensionality). While some use the terms "magical realism" and lo real maravilloso interchangeably, the key difference is the focus: lo real maravilloso specifically refers to the American content.
Critic Luis Leal says Carpentier was a key figure in magical realism, writing that "the existence of the marvelous real started magical realist literature, which some critics call truly American literature." This shows that lo real maravilloso is distinct from magical realism because it applies specifically to América. Lee A. Daniel groups critics of Carpentier into three categories: those who do not consider him a magical realist (Ángel Flores), those who call him a "mágicorealista" but ignore lo real maravilloso (Gómez Gil, Jean Franco, Carlos Fuentes), and those who use both terms interchangeably (Fernando Alegria, Luis Leal, Emir Rodriguez Monegal).
Ángel Flores says magical realism is an international style with a Spanish-language origin, writing that it continues the romantic realist tradition of Spanish and European literature. Some believe magical realism is a Latin American invention, while others see it as a global product of postmodernism. Guenther concludes that magical realism was mainly developed in Latin America through literary criticism and translations, and it has since become an international style, with many non-Hispanic writers categorized as such.
Some argue that linking magical realism to postmodernism is logical. Belgian critic Theo D'haen notes similarities between the two in his essay "Magical Realism and Postmodernism." Authors like Günter Grass, Thomas Bernhard, and Italo Calvino are often seen as postmodernist but could also be called magical realist. Characteristics common to both include self-reflexiveness, metafiction, eclecticism, redundancy, multiplicity, discontinuity, intertextuality, parody, and the breakdown of character and narrative. Both styles share themes like post-colonial discourse, where time and focus shifts are explained through magical reasoning rather than science, and the use of metafiction.
Magical realism and postmodernism both target a sophisticated audience that notices subtle details in writing, rather than a general audience. Postmodern writers reject escapist genres like fantasy or crime fiction but are connected to them in terms of readership. Postmodern literature has two modes: commercially successful pop fiction and intellectual philosophy. Reading only the first mode can lead to a distorted understanding of the text. The fictional reader, like Aureliano in 100 Years of Solitude, represents the writer's concerns about who reads the work and for what purpose. Magical realist writers must balance popularity with intellectual depth. Wendy Faris discusses these ideas in her work on magical realism.
Comparison with related genres
When trying to explain what something is, it can help to first explain what it is not. Many literary critics try to place novels and other works into one category, like "romantic" or "naturalist," without considering that some works belong to more than one category. Many discussions come from Maggie Ann Bowers' book Magic(al) Realism, where she explains how to define the terms "magic realism" and "magical realism" by comparing them to other genres, such as realism, surrealism, fantastic literature, science fiction, and a type of African literature called "animist realism."
Literary realism aims to show real life. A realist novel does not just describe events but shows how those events are presented. In this way, a realist story gives readers tools to build a world using real-life details. Understanding both realism and magical realism as types of storytelling is important for learning about both. Magical realism includes real, imagined, or magical elements that are treated as if they are real. It uses realism as a base to stretch what people usually consider real. Literary theorist Kornelije Kvas wrote that in magical realism, a fictional world close to reality is created. This world includes unusual or magical elements to highlight problems in society. These magical elements do not break the logical structure of the story, which is typical of traditional realism. Magical elements appear as part of everyday life and help people deal with challenges like conformity, evil, or control. Magical realism also uses the clear, objective storytelling style found in 19th-century realism.
To compare, Roh's ideas about expressionism and post-expressionism in German Art in the 20th Century can also be used to explain magical realism and realism. Realism includes terms like "history," "mimetic" (based on real life), "familiarization," "empiricism/logic," "narration," "closure-ridden/reductive naturalism," and "rationalization/cause and effect." Magical realism includes terms like "myth/legend," "fantastic/supplementation," "defamiliarization" (making the familiar seem strange), "mysticism/magic," "meta-narration" (storytelling about storytelling), "open-ended/expansive romanticism," and "imagination/negative capability."
Surrealism is often confused with magical realism because both explore parts of life that are not logical. There is a connection between Franz Roh's idea of magical realism and surrealism, as well as its influence on Carpentier's "marvelous reality." However, they are different. Surrealism focuses on the imagination and the mind, especially the unconscious thoughts and feelings of humans. It tries to show the hidden parts of the mind through art. Magical realism, on the other hand, rarely uses dreams or psychological experiences. Bowers wrote that magical realism takes the magic of the real world and places it in the world of the imagination. The magic in magical realism is ordinary because it is part of the real world.
Fabulism traditionally refers to fables, parables, and myths. It is sometimes used for modern stories that are connected to magical realism. Fabulism includes fantasy elements in real life, using myths and fables to criticize the world and offer clear lessons. Bruno Bettelheim, an Austrian-American child psychologist, said fairy tales have psychological value. They help people understand and process difficult experiences by using symbols. Fabulism helps people deal with complex emotions, such as loss or love, by turning them into something tangible.
Amber Sparks described fabulism as mixing fantasy elements into a realistic setting. Sparks said that fabulism often uses details from specific myths, fairy tales, and folktales. Unlike magical realism, which uses general magical elements, fabulism directly includes parts from well-known stories. Hannah Gilham of the Washington Square Review said that life is strange and full of wonder, and fiction should reflect that.
Magical realism is often linked to Latin American works, but fabulism is not tied to any culture. Fabulism focuses on the full range of human experiences by turning fairy tales and myths into stories. This can be seen in the works of C. S. Lewis, who was called the greatest fabulist of the 20th century by his biographer, A.N. Wilson. His 1956 novel Till We Have Faces is a fabulist retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. A Washington Post review of Lewis's work said that his stories use fiction to teach lessons. The Post wrote that Lewis "illuminates the nature of things through a tale both he and his readers know to be an ingenious analogical invention."
Italo Calvino is an example of a writer who uses the term "fabulist." Calvino is best known for his trilogy Our Ancestors, a collection of moral tales told through surreal fantasy. His work is often seen as allegories for children. Calvino wanted stories, like folktales, to teach lessons. Ian Thomson wrote that Calvino believed fables had the power to teach moral lessons.
When reviewing the work of Romanian-born American theater director Andrei Şerban, New York Times critic Mel Gussow created the term "The New Fabulism." Şerban is known for reimagining plays like The Stag King and The Serpent Woman, which are based on fables by Carl Gozzi. Gussow defined "The New Fabulism" as "taking ancient myths and turning them into morality tales." In The Magic Behind the Curtain, Ed Menta wrote that Şerban's use of the fabulist style allowed him to combine technical theater skills with his imagination. Through directing fabulist works, Şerban inspires audiences with goodness and romance through the magic of theater. Menta wrote that "The New Fabulism" lets Şerban explore his ideals of finding hope in the simplicity and innocence of children's theater.
Fantasy and magical realism are often seen as unrelated, even though they share some inspirations from mythology and folklore. Amaryll Beatrice Chanady explains how magical realism differs from fantasy literature ("the fantastic") by looking at three shared areas: the use of…
Major works and authors
Although critics and writers debate which authors or works belong to the magical realism genre, the following authors are well-known for this writing style. In Latin America, some of the most famous magical realist writers are Jorge Luis Borges, Isabel Allende, and Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez. García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude became very popular worldwide.
García Márquez once said, "My biggest challenge was making the line between what seems real and what seems imaginary unclear." Allende was the first Latin American woman writer to gain recognition outside her country. Her most famous novel, The House of the Spirits, closely resembles García Márquez's magical realist style. Another well-known author is Laura Esquivel, whose book Like Water for Chocolate tells the story of women living on the edges of their families and society. In this novel, the main character, Tita, is prevented from marrying by her mother. Her strong feelings and isolation cause her to use her emotions when cooking. People who eat her food experience her emotions. For example, after eating a wedding cake Tita made while feeling heartbroken, the guests also feel longing.
The Mexican author Juan Rulfo helped develop a storytelling method that does not follow a straight timeline. His short novel Pedro Páramo describes the town of Comala both as a lively place during the time of Pedro Páramo and as a ghost town through the eyes of his son, Juan Preciado, who returns to fulfill a promise to his dead mother.
In the Portuguese-speaking world, Jorge Amado and Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago are famous for magical realism. Other writers include Murilo Rubião, playwright Dias Gomes (Saramandaia), and José J. Veiga. A novel by Erico Verrissimo, Incidente em Antares, is also linked to this genre, even though the author is not widely known. Amado is the most famous modern Brazilian writer, with his works translated into 49 languages. His stories have been adapted into films, plays, and television shows, such as Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976) and the American remake Kiss Me Goodbye (1982). Angolan author Ondjaki's novel Transparent City is an example of magical realism in African literature. Transparent City won the José Saramago Prize in 2013.
In the English-speaking world, important authors include British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie, whose book Midnight's Children mixes history and fantasy. African American writers Toni Morrison (who has questioned if her work fits this label) and Gloria Naylor are also included. American Latino authors such as Ana Castillo, Rudolfo Anaya, Daniel Olivas, Rudy Ruiz, and Helena Maria Viramontes contribute to the genre. Guatemalan author Miguel Ángel Asturias and Native American writers Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie are also part of this group. Other authors include British writer Louis de Bernières and feminist writer Angela Carter. Rushdie is perhaps the most well-known, as his style combines European surrealism and Latin American myths. Morrison's novel Beloved tells the story of a mother who deals with the ghost of her child and memories of her painful past as a slave. The Welsh author Glyn Jones's novel The Island of Apples (1965) is often overlooked, possibly because it was written before the term "magic realism" was widely used or because of its connection to the poet Dylan Thomas. However, the story's mix of reality and myth, told through a young narrator in a dreamlike setting, fits the genre. Jonathan Safran Foer uses magical realism in Everything Is Illuminated to explore the history of the shtetl and the Holocaust. South African-Italian author Patricia Schonstein uses magical realism in A Time of Angels and A Quilt of Dreams to examine the Holocaust, the Rhodesian War, and apartheid.
Dino Buzzati's novels and short stories are often cited as examples of magical realism in Italian literature.
In Norway, authors Erik Fosnes Hansen, Jan Kjærstad, and young novelist Rune Salvesen are recognized for their work in magical realism, a style that is not commonly associated with Norwegian writing.
In Kannada literature, Shivaram Karanth's Mookajjiya Kanasugalu, which won the Jnanpith Award, and Devanur Mahadeva's Kusuma Baale, which won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, are notable works that use magical realism. Both books are widely read and have been adapted into films and television series. Mookajjiya Kanasugalu follows the journey of a character who can see the history of objects. Kusuma Baale blends magical realism with surrealism to tell the stories of people from oppressed castes in rural Karnataka.
During the fall of the Soviet Union, magical realism became popular in Eastern Europe. Key authors included Viktor Pelevin, Ludmila Petrushevskaya, Tatyana Tolstaya, and Ludmila Ulitskaya. Other important works from this time were The Soul of the Patriot (1989) by Yevgeni Anatolyevich Popov, Russian Beauty (1990) by Viktor Yerofeyev, and The Manhole (1991) by Vladimir Makanin. Dmitri Lipskerov's 1997 novel Forty Years in Chanchzhoe included elements of Latin American magical realism, influenced by One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Dimitris Lyacos's Poena Damni trilogy, originally written in Greek, is also considered magical realism because it mixes real and imaginary events in the same story.
Visual art
The painterly style began changing as early as the first decade of the 20th century. However, 1925 was the year when Magischer Realismus and Neue Sachlichkeit were officially recognized as important artistic trends. This year marked the publication of Franz Roh’s book, Nach-Expressionismus, Magischer Realismus: Probleme der neuesten europäischen Malerei (Post-Expressionism, Magical Realism: Problems of the Newest European Painting), and the opening of a major exhibition titled Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) at the Kunsthalle Mannheim in Germany, curated by Gustav Hartlaub. Guenther often refers to New Objectivity rather than magical realism, explaining that New Objectivity is more practical and connected to real artists, while magical realism is more theoretical or linked to critics’ ideas. Later, under Massimo Bontempelli’s influence, the term magic realism was widely accepted by German and Italian artists.
New Objectivity rejected the earlier impressionist and expressionist styles. Hartlaub included only artists in his exhibition who had returned to a realistic, tangible view of the world to show the truth of their time. The style was divided into two groups: conservative, (neo-)classicist painting and left-wing, politically driven Verist works. Hartlaub described these groups as follows:
In the new art, he saw a right wing and a left wing. The right wing was conservative, rooted in classicism and focused on timeless, healthy, physical forms drawn from nature. The left wing was modern, less concerned with artistic tradition, and aimed to reveal the chaos and true face of the times through direct, unembellished observation. Hartlaub believed this new art was strong enough to inspire new artistic energy.
This style spread across Europe during the 1920s and 1930s, from the Netherlands to Austria, France to Russia, with Germany and Italy as key centers. Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico, who created works in the late 1910s under the style arte metafisica (Metaphysical art), is considered a precursor to New Objectivity and had a major influence on its artists.
Later, in the 1940s and 1950s, American painters were labeled magical realists. A connection between these artists and Neue Sachlichkeit was highlighted in a 1940s exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art titled American Realists and Magic Realists. French artist Pierre Roy, who worked in the U.S., helped introduce Franz Roh’s ideas about magic realism to American audiences.
In 1925, Franz Roh used the term magic realism to describe a style of visual art that focuses on extreme realism in everyday scenes, revealing hidden mysteries rather than adding overtly magical elements. Roh explained:
This new style celebrates the ordinary world. It uses techniques to give everyday objects deeper meaning and show hidden truths. It aims to reveal the inner essence of the world through intuitive representation.
In painting, magical realism is often linked to post-expressionism, as seen in the title of Roh’s 1925 essay, Post-Expressionism, Magical Realism. Lois Parkinson Zamora of the University of Houston notes that Roh described a group of painters now categorized as Post-Expressionists.
Roh used magic realism to describe art that returned to realism after the exaggerated styles of expressionism. Instead of redesigning objects to show their inner spirits, magic realism faithfully portrays the exterior of objects, allowing their hidden qualities to emerge. This idea can be traced back to the 15th century, as seen in the work of Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, who created illusions in landscapes that invited viewers to imagine hidden parts of the scene. Other key features of magical realism, according to Roh, include:
The ideals of Roh’s magic realism inspired artists for decades. In a 1991 New York Times review, critic Vivien Raynor noted that artist John Stuart Ingle’s work showed that magic realism was still alive. Ingle’s approach focused on intensely realistic portrayals, with the “magic” arising from the depth of his observations. He said, “I want to paint what is given, not add arbitrary changes.”
While Ingle’s work reflects Roh’s original ideas, magic realism in the mid-20th century often included overtly fantastical elements, similar to its use in literature.
Artists from the 1930s to the 1950s, such as Bettina Shaw-Lawrence, Paul Cadmus, Ivan Albright, Philip Evergood, George Tooker, Brian Connelly, Ricco, and Andrew Wyeth (as seen in his famous painting Christina’s World), are labeled magic realists. Their work differs from Roh’s definition, as it combines everyday reality with hints of fantasy or wonder. For example, Cadmus used stylized distortions to create surreal atmospheres.
Modern magic realism has moved further from everyday reality, depicting openly magical worlds. Artists like Marcela Donoso and Gregory Gillespie are associated with this style.
In the early 21st century, artists such as Peter Doig, Richard T. Scott, and Will Teather have also been linked to magic realism.
Film and television
Magical realism is not a specific type of film, but traits found in magical realism books can also appear in movies that include fantasy elements. These traits are shown in a straightforward way and are not explained.
Many films use magical realism by mixing real and magical parts or showing different ways of making movies. This method helps explore what is real. Fredric Jameson, in On Magic Realism in Film, suggests that magical realism in film is a storytelling style that relies on historical events that don’t fit together neatly. Like Water for Chocolate (1992) starts and ends with a story told from the main character’s perspective to set up the magical realism style. Telling a story from a child’s viewpoint, showing missing parts of history, and using bright colors in movies are tools used in magical realism films.
Films by Woody Allen, such as Midnight in Paris (2011), include magical realism. Most movies directed by Terry Gilliam are strongly influenced by magical realism. Animated films by Satoshi Kon and Hayao Miyazaki often use magical realism. Some films by Emir Kusturica, especially Time of the Gypsies (1988), also include magical realism.
Some other films and television shows that include magical realism are:
Video games and new media
In his essay "Half-Real," MIT professor and game researcher Jesper Juul claims that the basic nature of video games is connected to magic realism. Early video games like the 1986 text adventure Trinity mixed parts of science fiction, fantasy, and magic realism. Point-and-click adventure games such as Kentucky Route Zero (2013) and Memoranda (2017) also include elements of this genre. The Metal Gear series is often noted as a clear example of magic realism because it combines realistic military stories with supernatural features.
In electronic literature, early writer Michael Joyce's work "afternoon, a story" uses the uncertainty and unreliable narrator found in modernist writing. It also includes suspense and romance, and the story's meaning can change a lot depending on the order in which you read the sections during each reading.