Light opens a space up; dark gives it weight and drama. This is rarely neutral: it sets the mood before anyone reads a word. Impressionism leans light, Surrealism stays closer to dark.
Warm reads as human and inviting; cool reads as considered and controlled. Few things shift a first impression faster than this one. Impressionism leans warm, Surrealism stays closer to cool.
Futuristic points forward; nostalgic points to a specific remembered moment. One promises what is next, the other that something familiar is still true. Impressionism leans nostalgic, Surrealism stays closer to futuristic.
Both sit on the same side of the restraint question. The gap is how much breathing room each one insists on. Surrealism leans maximal, Impressionism stays closer to minimal.
Impressionism vs Surrealism: 83% affinity (Highly compatible)
Where they split: Impressionism leans light, Surrealism stays closer to dark. Also diverging: Cool vs Warm (30% gap), Futuristic vs Nostalgic (25% gap), Minimal vs Maximal (20% gap). Where they agree: both lean expressive, organic.
Safe to blend: close enough that mixing Impressionism and Surrealism reads as one coherent direction, not two competing ones.