A very precise form of realism but with paradoxically twists to the realism, such as disparate juxtapositions of time and space elements. E.g. in magic realism you could have an illuminated street at high noon and otherwise sunny conditions. It can also be the act of infusing an air of strangeness into ordinary subject matters. In that regard, the end result has much in common with Surrealism. However, surrealism is firmly anchored in the dreams and psychology whereas magic realism need not. As an art ‘ism it is not so clear-cut a definition either and has no exact timestamp. Chirico in Rome and the Scuola metafisica, and some 1920s Dutch painters fall into the category as do some American social painters of the 1930s, and some American painters of the 1950s and 1960s.
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