In his beginnings he created numerous drawings and paintings with a dreamlike surrealist character that most often represented imaginary landscapes, employing a flat smooth treatment that offers a rich palette of colors.
He stayed in Paris in 1952 and in 1954–1955 during which he met Benjamin Péret and associated with the Surrealists, although he soon parted with the group, joining instead the company of his friend the painter Simon Hantaï.
Starting in 1956 Saura tackled the register of what will prove to be his greatest works: women, nudes, self-portraits, shrouds and crucifixions, which he painted on both canvas and paper.
Stadler introduced him to Otto van de Loo in Munich and Pierre Matisse in New York City, both of whom exhibited his work and represented him, and eventually his paintings were collected by major museums.
Starting in 1959 he began creating a prolific body of works in print, illustrating numerous books including Cervantes's Don Quijote, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Nöstlinger's adaptation of Pinocchio, Kafka’s Tagebücher, Quevedo’s Three Visions, and many others.