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Max Ernst Mixed Media

American, German, French, 1891-1976

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.

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Artist: Max Ernst
Une Pyramide en Colère, Micro-Painting on Leather by Max Ernst
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Micro picture, gouache on paper mounted on black leather. Belonging to the serie “Microbes”. Interestingly, it is unusually mounted on a black leather surface whose shape reminds th...
Category

1940s Surrealist Max Ernst Mixed Media

Materials

Leather, Gouache, Cardboard

ERNST, Max. Rêve d'une Petite Fille qui voulut entrer au Carmel.
By Max Ernst
Located in New York, NY
ERNST, Max. Rêve d'une Petite Fille qui voulut entrer au Carmel. 176 pp. Illustrated with reproductions of 79 collages by Max Ernst. 8vo., 265 x 200 mm, bound in original illustrated wrappers, slightly faded in a new light blue cloth folding box, gilt black leather spine label. Paris: Éditions du Carrefour, 1930. Ernst's rare second collage novel about an adolescent girl who loses her virginity on the day of her first communion and so commits herself to a religious vocation as a Carmelite nun. Ernst includes a line of ironically pretentious text with each image. This is number 232 of the edition of 1000 copies on Velin, inscribed by Paul...
Category

1920s Surrealist Max Ernst Mixed Media

Materials

Paper

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Max Earnst 'Il Pleut' Artist's Proof (B.A.T) Color Etching and Aquatint
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Max Ernst mixed media for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Max Ernst mixed media available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of mixed media to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Max Ernst in animal skin, aquatint, board and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Surrealist style. Not every interior allows for large Max Ernst mixed media, so small editions measuring 8 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Roberto Matta, Mikulas Kravjansky, and David Gilhooly. Max Ernst mixed media prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,475 and tops out at $140,371, while the average work can sell for $8,500.
Questions About Max Ernst Mixed Media
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 26, 2024
    Max Ernst lived in several places during his life. He was born in Brühl, Germany, in 1881 and later moved to Bonn to attend the university located there. Then he settled in Cologne, not far from his birthplace. 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 others, Ernst was among the first visual artists to experiment with imagery and techniques associated with Surrealism. 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. 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 there until Ernst's death in Paris in 1976. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Max Ernst art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 13, 2024
    You can see Max Ernst paintings in many places around the world. The Max Ernst Museum Brühl des LVR in Brühl, Germany, is home to one of the largest exhibitions of his work. Other museums that have Max Ernst paintings in their permanent collections include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, California; the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois and the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit, Michigan. Explore a range of Max Ernst art on 1stDibs.

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