What are common symbols in Surrealist art?

Surrealist art employs recurring symbols drawn from dreams, Freudian psychology, and personal mythology. Common symbols include: eyes (perception, surveillance, inner vision), eggs (birth, potential, fragility), clocks and watches (time’s fluidity), ants (decay, anxiety, the unconscious swarming), elephants (memory, power, the impossible), keys (secrets, access to hidden realms), mirrors (self-reflection, alternate realities), birds (freedom, the soul, transformation), hands (creation, touch, agency), and doors/windows (thresholds between states). Dali used crutches (support for fragile reality) and soft forms (time and matter’s instability). These symbols often carry both personal significance for individual artists and broader psychological resonance. Understanding common symbols enriches viewing Surrealist work, though artists frequently subvert expected meanings through unexpected juxtaposition.