Birth Year : 1891
Death Year : 1973
Country : France
Max Ernst, born in Bruhl, near Cologne, did not prepare for a career
in art but studied philosophy at Bonn from 1909 to 1911. His interest in
contemporary art movements and in the works of Macke
and Chirico led to his encounter
with the Dada movement, begun in Zurich in 1916 by Jean Arp,
Marcel Duchamp , and other painters who
revolted against the senseless killing in mass warfare. The term Dada,
which is derived from a word children use meaning hobbyhorse, was chosen
for its childish sound and meaning. Dada is a satiric form of art that
takes any object and makes it art simply because the artist chooses to
place it in a picture, gives it a satiric title, and creates a chance reality.
Nothing is sacred in Dada and anything that stimulates the artist's imagination
may be used. This stimulation of the artist's imagination led to Surrealism,
a literary form of art that takes many of its ideas from psychoanalysis,
and states that the dream of the artist may pass from his unconscious mind
onto the canvas. In Paris, the poets André Breton and Paul Eluard
led the Surrealist group, and Ernst joined them when he arrived in Paris
in 1922.
To achieve dreamlike effects upon canvas, Ernst invented many techniques.
One of these, first noted by Leonardo da Vinci, is that of observing strange
shapes in natural objects. To achieve his fantastic and very imaginative
dream landscapes, Ernst also made use of decalcomania, transferring oil
paint to canvas from some rough surface by pressure; frottage, rubbing
a piece of wood, stone, or metal; and collage, the pasting of pieces of
paper or cloth to canvas. Ernst's imagination also led him to experiment
with automatic writing, to write a collage novel, to collaborate on a Surrealist
film, and to paint frescoes and theatrical sets. In 1941 he left Paris
for New York where he rejoined Marcel Duchamp
and eventually André Breton. The three men edited the Surrealist
magazine, "VVV", from 1942 to 1945. After a period in Arizona, Ernst and
his wife Dorothea Tanning, an American Surrealist in her own right, returned
to Paris in 1949, where he continued to paint until his death.
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Max
Ernst
Flying
Geese
Max
Ernst
Was
Fur Ein Vogel Bist du ?
Max
Ernst
Ursachen
Der Sonne, 1960
Max
Ernst
Fleurs
De Neige, 1929
Max
Ernst
Vox
Angelica 1944
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