1953
Born in Germany in 1891, later naturalized as an American, then a French citizen, Max Ernst was a pioneer in the Dada and Surrealist movements, the boundaries of which he pushed with his unconventional methods of printmaking, drawing and collage.
Ernst had no formal art training — and that may have been his greatest asset. He produced his first work following four years serving in World War I. At the time, he was in Cologne, Germany, working closely with fellow Dada pioneers Jean Arp and Johannes Baargeld. His output during this period consisted largely of collages, which allowed him to represent the shards, rubble and explosions from his traumatic wartime experience.
In 1922, Ernst moved to France, where he soon became affiliated with Surrealism, the avant-garde art movement taking shape in Paris. Alongside Man Ray, Joan Miró and a couple of others, Ernst was among the first visual artists to experiment with imagery and techniques associated with Surrealism.
Ernst’s greatest contribution to the Surrealist movement was his invention of frottage (French for “rubbing”), wherein an artist rubs a pencil or crayon over a paper atop a textured surface, and later grattage (French for “scraping”), where a similar technique is applied with paint. Both methods showcase Ernst’s fascination with the unconscious and serendipitous elements of artistic creation, a theme that connected the Dadaists and the Surrealists. Ernst had deep knowledge of psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud’s dream theories, which were big influences on Surrealists. He was among the first Surrealists to use Freud’s work to examine his own creative impulses. He also published a series of books of his collages, all of which were deeply symbolic and often philosophical.
When Germany occupied France during World War II, Ernst escaped to America with the help of patron and collector Peggy Guggenheim, whom he married in 1941. While living in New York, Ernst’s work and techniques proved instrumental in inspiring the early development of Abstract Expressionism — influencing Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollock in particular. He later moved to Sedona, Arizona, where he lived with his fourth wife, Dorothea Tanning, a fellow Surrealist and prolific visual artist and poet.
While Ernst and Tanning are largely responsible for Sedona’s reputation as an artist colony, they relocated to France in the 1950s and remained until Ernst’s death in Paris in 1976.
Find original Max Ernst art on 1stDibs.
Les Malheurs des Immortels - Rare Book illustrated by Max Ernst - 1922
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Les Malheurs des Immortels révélés par Paul Eluard et Max Ernst. Collection of poems and prints Woodcuts. Uncut. Copy number 822 of 1300. This copy is printed on paper Madagascar.
Paper
A l’Intérieur de la Vue - Rare Book Illustrated by Max Ernst - 1948
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
A l’Intérieur de la Vue is an original modern rare book written by Paul Éluard (Saint-Denis, 1895 – Charenton-le-Pont, 1952) and illustrated by Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) in 1948. Orig...
Paper, Mixed Media
La Dame Ovale - Vintage Rare Book Illustrated by Max Ernst - 1934
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
La Dame Ovale is an original modern rare book written by Mary Leonora Carrington (Chorley, Lancashire 1917 – Mexico City, 2011) and illustrated by Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) in 1934. Original edition. Published by GLM, Paris. 535 numbered copies. Format: small 8°. Seven full page collages. Unnumbered pages. Good conditions. Max Ernst in 1934. Originally a Dada activist in Germany, Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) became one of the early adherents of the Surrealist circle. As a child living in a small community near Cologne, Ernst had considered his existence incredible and full of wonders. In autobiographical transcripts, written mostly in the third person, he said of his birth: “Max Ernst had his first contact with the world of sense on the 2nd April 1891 at 9:45 a.m., when he emerged from the egg which his mother had laid in an eagle’s nest and which the bird had incubated for seven years”. Ernst’s service in the German army during World War I swept away his early success as an Expressionist. In his own words: “Max Ernst died on 1st August 1914. He returned to life on 11th November 1918, a young man who wanted to become a magician and find the central myth of his age. From time to time he consulted the eagle which had guarded the egg of his prenatal existence. The bird’s advice can be detected in his work”. Mary Leonora Carrington (Chorley, Lancashire 1917 – Mexico City, 2011). Carrington was a British-born Mexican artist, surrealist painter, and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the Surrealist movement of the 1930s. Carrington was also a founding member of the women's liberation movement in Mexico during the 1970s. In 1936 Leonora saw the work of the German surrealist...
Paper, Photogravure
Lizards - Lithograph by Max Ernst - 1972
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Lizards is a contemporary artwork realized by Max Ernst in 1972. Mixed colored lithograph on Arches Paper. Edited by Manus Presse, Stuttgart 1972. Not signed and not numbered. Ed...
Lithograph
Masque Etching by Max Ernst, Surrealist, Signed, Edition 33/100, 1950
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Color etching on vellum. Image dimension 18x13 cm. Edition of 33/100. Hand signed in pencil. Light-stained, browned, with pinholes in two corners. Very rare.
Etching
Pink Composition - Lithograph by Max Ernst - 1974
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Color lithograph realized by Max Ernst in 1974. Not signed. as issued. Printed by Atelier Pierre Chave in Vence, France. Excellent condition. This lithograph was realized by th...
Lithograph
After Max Ernst, Fiat Modes - Pereat Ars, Print, 1970
By Max Ernst
Located in Barcelona, ES
After Max Ernst "Fiat Modes - Pereat Ars" Dada Artwork Print, 1970 Explore the avant-garde world of Dada with Max Ernst's "Fiat Modes - Pereat Ars," a striking framed artwork print...
Paper
"Les chiens ont soif" lithograph
By (after) Max Ernst
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: lithograph (after the drawing). Printed by Mourlot for the deluxe limited edition portfolio "Les chiens ont soif", this is one of 250 impressions on BFK Rives wove paper (the...
Lithograph
Fureur, tu me Traites Comme la Tristesse
By Max Ernst
Located in New York, NY
Signed and numbered in pencil Lithograph 20.5 x 17 inches Edition 64 of 70
Lithograph
Les Chiens Ont Soif VII, Surrealist Lithograph by Max Ernst
By Max Ernst
Located in Long Island City, NY
Max Ernst, German (1891 - 1976) - Les Chiens Ont Soif VII, Portfolio: Les Chiens Ont Soif, Year: 1964, Medium: Lithograph, Edition: 165/320, Size: 17 x 24.5 in. (43.18 x 62.23 c...
Lithograph
After Max Ernst, Fiat Modes - Pereat Ars, Print, 1970
By Max Ernst
Located in Barcelona, ES
After Max Ernst "Fiat Modes - Pereat Ars" Dada Artwork Print, 1970 Explore the avant-garde world of Dada with Max Ernst's "Fiat Modes - Pereat Ars," a striking framed artwork print...
Paper
Les Chiens Ont Soif II, Surrealist Lithograph by Max Ernst
By Max Ernst
Located in Long Island City, NY
Max Ernst, German (1891 - 1976) - Les Chiens Ont Soif II, Portfolio: Les Chiens Ont Soif, Year: 1964, Medium: Lithograph, Edition: 165/320, Size: 17 x 24.5 in. (43.18 x 62.23 cm...
Lithograph
