What is Photomontage?

Photomontage is a technique combining photographs from different sources into a single composite image. Pioneered by Dadaists like Hannah Hoch and John Heartfield in the 1910s-20s, it became an important Surrealist tool for creating impossible scenes and dreamlike imagery. Unlike traditional collage, photomontage specifically uses photographic imagery, lending documentary weight to impossible juxtapositions. The technique served both artistic and political purposes, with Heartfield creating powerful anti-fascist works. Surrealists used photomontage to visualize dreams and unconscious imagery with photographic ‘reality.’ The technique anticipates modern digital photo manipulation and remains vital in contemporary art. Explore photomontage and other techniques in our art glossary.