This richly illustrated study explores the world of fantasy, dreams and the imagination as expressed in European art and literature from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century. The volume follows the development of imaginative and visionary art from the Romantic era to Surrealism. Hammacher begins with William Blake and the philosophical concept of the creative imagination before discussing Henry Fuseli, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the emergence of fantastic imagery during the nineteenth century. The narrative continues through Symbolism, examining figures such as Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon and Joris-Karl Huysmans, before moving to the dreamlike worlds of Mikhail Vrubel and Giorgio de Chirico. The final chapters focus on Surrealism and artists including Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró and Salvador Dali, analysing how dreams, mythology, psychology and the unconscious transformed modern art. The text is supported by an extensive bibliography, biographical notes, an index and hundreds of high-quality illustrations that place the artworks within their literary and historical context. (AI-generated content description)