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.
1919. Painted wood relief. 45.7 x 38 cm. Private collection.
c.1919. Oil on canvas. 36 x 26 cm. Narodni Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic.
1919. oil on canvas. 54 x 43.8 cm. Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany.
1920. Tempera, goache, ink, pencil, collage on paper. 31.2 x 22.2 cm. Private collection.
1920. Gouache, Chinese ink and pencil on cardboard. 30 x 25 cm. Private collection.
1920. Gouache on paper. 36.2 x 24.5 cm. The Museum of Modern Arts, New York, NY, USA.
Collage and oil on paper. 44 x 34 cm. Private collection.
1920. Collage and gouache on paper mounted on cardboard. 16 x 23 cm. GAM - Galleria Civica d'arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin, Italy.
1920/21. Gouache on print. 74.3 x 99.7 cm. The Museum of Modern Arts, New York, NY, USA.
1921. Collage, gouache and Chinese ink on paper. 29 x 9 cm. Private collection.
c.1921. Oil on canvas. 58 x 62.8 cm. Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst, Munich, Germany.
1921. Mixed media on paper, mounted on Cardboard. 24.5 x 16.6 cm. Private collection.
1921. Oil on canvas. 125.4 x 107.9 cm. Tate Gallery, London, UK.
1921. Collage and gouache on paper. 18.5 x 10.6 cm. Private collection.
1921. Oil on canvas. 66 x 81 cm. Private collection.
1922. Oil on canvas. 93 x 102 cm. Private collection.
1922. Oil on canvas. 130 x 95. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany. Read Note.
1923. Oil on canvas. 81 x 64 cm. Tate Gallery, London, UK.
1923. Oil on canvas. 100 x 81 cm. Private collection.
1923. Oil on canvas. 73 x 100 cm. Private collection.
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.