By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Superb correspondence between Max Ernst and Nesto Jacometti, (1953-1959), comprising 5 items, among which:
1)L.A.S.s.l.n.d. (Lettre autographe signée sans lieu ni date), Autograph Letter signed neither date nor place, from Max Ernst to Nesto Jacometti (presumably post-1953). One page (12.2 x 19 cm), with sketch on the reverse showing directions to his atelier. Two ring holes in left margin, usual folds of the sheet. Signed recto and verso. In French, blue ink. Very good condition, except small tear upper right margin, crease lower right margin.
Brief letter in which the artist fixes an appointment with the renowned collector of graphic art, Nesto Jacometti, for the following day at his studio – atelier 15, impasse Ronsin, to show him his new lithographs. The text is enhanced on the recto by a detailed map, drawn by the artist to show the exact location of the studio.
2) L.T. (Lettre dactylographiée) Letter typewritten of Nesto Jacometti, addressed to “mon amì Max Ernst”, with heading “A l’occasion du Prix de la Peinture de la Biennale de Venise 1954”, Herrliberg, 15 July 1954. One page (29.7x21 cm) with two ring holes in left margin. Usual creases in flimsy copy paper, slight tear upper right corner edge. In French. Very good condition.
3) Carbon copy L.T. (Lettre dactylographiée) Typewritten Letter from Nesto Jacometti, addressed to Max Ernst, dated 15 July 1954, Herrliberg. Pen and black ink cancellations and corrections. Signed. One page (29.7x21cm) with two ring holes in left margin. Usual creases of flimsy copy paper, one very small crease in upper left corner. In French. Very good condition. Original and carbon copy of letter of congratulations, signed by Nesto Jacometti to his artist friend for his award at the Venice Biennial.
In 1954, a year after his final return to France, Max Ernst obtained the recognition of a lifetime, which had eluded him until then in his native Germany, in his adopted nation, France, as well as in the New World. The surrealist received the coveted “Grand Prize for painting” at the Venice Biennale. The conferment of this award must have seemed a trick of destiny to the great artist, who had always made clear how his programme was “beyond painting”, but at least it allowed to allow him to live and work without financial problems. What’s more, such an award upset the delicate equilibrium between him and his fellow surrealists. “I admired your work in silence in Venice” the collector confessed: “your work speaks to me like a proud and nearby spirit.” He continues by describing in poetic, aesthetic and surreal terms his emotional involvement in the presence of an Ernst. He concludes by dedicating a poem in his own hand to the “enfant-poète” and to the “man-flower surrounded by silence”.
4) L.T.S. (Lettre dactylographiée signée) Typewritten letter signed, from Max Ernst to Nesto Jacometti, headed “Nesto Jacometti – Herrliberg (Zurich)” Herrliberg (Zurich), 4 August 1954. With signature in carbon copy and message handwritten by the collector in carbon copy. One page (29.7x21cm) with two ring holes in left margin. Usual folds and creases of flimsy copy paper. In French. Very good condition.
Letter in which priorities are established: work schedule, technical details such as dimensions, payments and appointments between artist and gallery owners. Once the “Le Lisière de la Foret” lithographs are signed and on their way back to Switzerland for the maison Klipstein in Berne, it would be necessary to proceed with the “two lithographs” (of which size and paper are defined), which are to be part of Nesto’s Catalogue of Engravings, planned for September. Max Ernst is occupied with the tenth plate of “Ubu-Hibou”, a surreal character from Alfred Larry’s theatrical work (Le Livre d’Art, journal of Paul Fort 1896), considered to be the work which anticipated the surrealist movement and the theatre of the absurd.
5) L.T.s.l. (Lettre dactylographiée sans lieu) Typewritten letter without place, from Nesto Jacometti to Max Ernst. 1 October 1959. One page (29.7 x 21 cm) with two ring holes in left margin. Usual fold of the flimsy blue copy paper. In French. Very good condition, slight yellowing of the paper on upper margin.
Letter in which Nesto Jacometti thanks the artist for having wanted to participate and collaborate with his sales catalogue “L’Oeuvre gravée”, illustrated with reproductions of engravings and photographs of the artist’s work. It is his pride and joy. Further, the collector informs Ernst that Veno Pilon...
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1950s Surrealist Max Ernst More Art