The Surrealists are reading Freud, and arguably misreading him. The read Freud as almost privileging mental illness, considering it a truer state of being. Dreams were also really important to Freud, and therefore dreams are important to the Surrealists. Andre Breton, a poet, is the leader of the surrealist movement, and is credited with splitting it into two separate ‘types’.
Dali is a Spaniard working in France, and is an example of a Dislocated Realist. Dislocated Realism is the idea of creating a visually believable scene where irrationally juxtaposed images are seamlessly fused.
Automatism is the idea of trying to create images automatically, meaning trying to draw or paint without preconceived thought. They are painting directly from the subconscious mind without the intervention of logical conscious thoughts.