The term 'Surrealism' was coined by the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917, but it was André Breton who turned it into a formal movement in 1924 with his 'Surrealist Manifesto.' Breton defined it as 'pure psychic automatism,' a way to express the true functioning of thought in the absence of any control exercised by reason. Surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst sought to bridge the gap between dreams and reality, creating 'absolute reality' or 'surreality.' The movement was heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories of the unconscious mind. Interestingly, while the movement is famous for its paintings, it began primarily as a literary movement, with writers using 'automatic writing' to tap into their subconscious without the interference of the rational ego.