Max Ernst
Max Ernst Biography
Max Ernst was born on 2 April 1891 in Brühl, near Cologne, the first son of Philipp Ernst, teacher of the deaf and amateur painter, and his wife, Luise, née Kopp. Max Ernst never received any formal artistic training. In 1910-1914 he studied philosophy and psychiatry at Bonn University and took a deep interest in painting. In 1914 Ernst got acquainted with Jean (Hans) Arp, and their lifelong friendship began. With the outburst of the First World War Ernst was conscripted to the army, where he served in the field artillery till the end of the war, never dropping his interest in art. It was during the war, in 1916, when he took part in the "Sturm" exhibition in Berlin. To the same period date his first contacts with Dada artists.
Max Ernst 59 Most Important Paintings and Artworks
- Fruit Of A Long Experience.
1919. Painted wood relief. 45.7 x 38 cm. Private collection.
- Family Excursions.
c.1919. Oil on canvas. 36 x 26 cm. Narodni Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Aquis Submersus.
1919. oil on canvas. 54 x 43.8 cm. Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany.
- Le Limaçon De Chambre.
1920. Tempera, goache, ink, pencil, collage on paper. 31.2 x 22.2 cm. Private collection.
- Untitled.
1920. Gouache, Chinese ink and pencil on cardboard. 30 x 25 cm. Private collection.
- The Small Fistule That Says Tic Tac / La Petite Fistule Lacrimale Qui...
1920. Gouache on paper. 36.2 x 24.5 cm. The Museum of Modern Arts, New York, NY, USA.
- The Fall Of An Angel / La Chute D'Un Ange.
Collage and oil on paper. 44 x 34 cm. Private collection.
- Un Peu Malade Le Cheval Patte Pelu.
1920. Collage and gouache on paper mounted on cardboard. 16 x 23 cm. GAM - Galleria Civica d'arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy.
- The Gramineous Bicycle Garnished With Bells The Dappled Fire Damps And...
1920/21. Gouache on print. 74.3 x 99.7 cm. The Museum of Modern Arts, New York, NY, USA.
- Young Chimera / Jeune Chimère.
1921. Collage, gouache and Chinese ink on paper. 29 x 9 cm. Private collection.
- Birds; Also: Birds, Fish-Snake And Scarecrow.
c.1921. Oil on canvas. 58 x 62.8 cm. Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munich, Germany.
- Approaching Puberty Or The Pleiads/La Puberté Proche... Ou Les Pléiades.
1921. Mixed media on paper, mounted on Cardboard. 24.5 x 16.6 cm. Private collection.
- Célèbes Or Elephant Célèbes.
1921. Oil on canvas. 125.4 x 107.9 cm. Tate Gallery, London, UK.
- The Word Or Woman-Bird / La Parole Ou Femme-Oiseau.
1921. Collage and gouache on paper. 18.5 x 10.6 cm. Private collection.
- Seascape.
1921. Oil on canvas. 66 x 81 cm. Private collection.
- Oedipus Rex.
1922. Oil on canvas. 93 x 102 cm. Private collection.
- A Friends' Reunion/Au Rendez-Vous Des Amis.
1922. Oil on canvas. 130 x 95. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany. Read Note.
- Of This Men Shall Know Nothing.
1923. Oil on canvas. 81 x 64 cm. Tate Gallery, London, UK.
- Ubu Imperator.
1923. Oil on canvas. 100 x 81 cm. Private collection.
- Castor And Pollution.
1923. Oil on canvas. 73 x 100 cm. Private collection.
Max Ernst Bibliography
Max Ernst. By P. Waldberg. Paris. 1958.
Max Ernst. Life and Work. By J. Russel. London. 1967.
Max Ernst. By E. Quinn. London. 1977.
Max Ernst. Beyond Painting. By Ulrich Bischoff. Benedict Taschen Verlag. 1987.
Max Ernst and Alchemy: A Magician in Search of Myth (Surrealist) by M. E. Warlick, Franklin Rosemont. Univ of Texas Pr, 2001.
Max Ernst by Edward Quinn. Konemann, 1999.
Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst: The Bride Shared (Clarendon Studies in the History of Art) by David Hopkins. Clarendon Pr, 1998.
Ernst (Colour Library) by Ian Turpin. Phaidon Press Inc., 1993.
Ernst: Pieta or Revolution by Night (Tate Modern Masterpieces) by Malcom Gee. Tate Gallery Pubn, 1986.
