Who invented decalcomania as a Surrealist painting technique in the 1930s?

Oscar Domínguez invented decalcomania as a Surrealist painting technique in the 1930s.

The process involves pressing paint between two surfaces and then separating them, producing irregular branching patterns and accidental textures. Artists could use the resulting marks as prompts for imagined landscapes, organisms or other forms. The method made chance an active part of image-making.

Domínguez, a Canary Islands-born artist who worked mainly in Paris, introduced the technique to the Surrealist circle in 1936. He used gouache or other fluid paint and transferred it to paper or canvas. The unpredictable results suited Surrealism’s interest in revealing images without fully planning them.

Decalcomania is sometimes confused with frottage. Frottage obtains marks by rubbing over a texture, whereas decalcomania creates marks by pressing and separating painted surfaces.