Max Ernst

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Max Ernst (1891–1976) was a German (naturalised American and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, graphic designer, and poet.

Ernst, a prolific artiste and survivor of the Dada movement and surrealism, was a central figure in the movement and surrection.

He had no formal art education, but his experimental approach to art culminated in his creation of frottage, a process that uses pencil rubbings of objects as a source of images—and grattage, an analogous process in which paint is scraped over canvas to reveal the objects placed underneath.

He is also known for his collage novels.

Early life

Max Ernst was born in Brühl, near Cologne, and was the third of nine children of a middle-class Catholic family. Philipp's father, a devout Christian and an amateur painter, was a teacher of the deaf and an amateur painter. Max inspired him to defy authority, while Max's obsession with painting and sketching in nature encouraged him to try painting. Ernst began studying philosophy, art history, literature, psychology, and psychiatry at the University of Bonn in 1909. He visited asylums and became obsessed with the mental health of the mentally ill patients; he also began painting, drawing sketches in the Brühl castle's garden, as well as portraits of his sister and himself. Ernst befriended August Macke in 1911 and joined his Dierenstein Expressionist group of artists, who later became an artist.

He paid a visit to the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne in 1912, where Pablo Picasso's and post-Impressionists such as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin greatly influenced him. His work was on display in Cologne the first year together with that of the Das Jungland company, Galerie Feldman in Cologne, and then in many group exhibitions in 1913. Ernst developed an ironic style in his drawings of this period, combining grotesque elements with Cubist and Expressionist motifs.

Ernst Arp's Cologne acquaintance in 1914 met Hans Arp. The two became close friends and their relationship lasted for fifty years. Ernst's life was interrupted by World War I. Ernst was drafted and served on both the Western and the Eastern Fronts, and he was wounded in the summer. Ernst's death was devastating; he wrote of his service in his autobiography as "M[ax] on the first of August 1914;] rnst] The death of the man. He was resurrected on the 11th of November 1918. Ernst was given a brief period on the Western Front to map maps, allowing him to continue painting. Several German Expressionist painters died in combat during the war, including August Macke and Franz Marc.

Ernst was mobilized and recalled to Cologne in 1918. Luise Straus, a Jewish immigrant who had been in 1914, married him shortly after. Ernst visited Paul Klee in Munich in 1919 and studied Giorgio de Chirico's paintings. He made his first collages (particularly Fiat modes, a collection of lithographs) in the same year, inspired by de Chirico and mail-order catalogues, teaching-aide textbooks, and similar publications, a style that would dominate his artistic pursuits. The Cologne Dada group was founded in 1919 by Ernst, a social activist, and several others. Ernst and Baargeld published several short-lived magazines like Der Strom, die Schammade, and organized Dada exhibitions between 1919-1920.

Ulrich 'Jimmy' Ernst, a son of Ernst and Luise, was born on June 24, 1920; he later became a painter. Ernst's marriage to Luise was short-lived. In 1921, he met Paul Éluard, who became a lifelong friend. Éluard bought two of Ernst's paintings (Celebes and Oedipus Rex) and six collages to display his poetry collection Réfrétitions. Les malheurs des immortels a year later, and André Breton, who was born in 1921, collaborated on Les malheurs des immortels, then collaborated on Les malheurs des immortels, later on the French journal Littérature. Ernst and his wife Gala in Paris suburb Saint-Brice, 1922, when struggling to obtain the required documents, entered France unlawfully and settled into a ménage à trois avec Éluard and his wife Gala, leaving behind his wife and son. Ernst worked in several odd jobs to make a living and then went to paint during his first two years in Paris. The Éluards moved to Eaubonne, near Paris, where Ernst painted many murals in 1923. His works were on display at Salon des Indépendants the same year.

Éluard's father, despite apparently supporting the ménage à trois, became more concerned about the situation. He departed in 1924, first for Monaco and then for Saigon. He soon invited his wife and Max Ernst to accompany him; both had to sell paintings to fund the trip. Ernst traveled to Düsseldorf and sold a substantial number of his paintings to Johanna Ey, the owner of gallery Das Jungland, who lives in Düsseldorf. After a brief time together in Saigon, the trio decided that Gala would stick with Paul. After discovering more of South-East Asia, the Éluards returned to Eaubonne in early September, while Ernst followed them a few months later. He returned to Paris in late 1924 and shortly signed a Jacques Viot contract that allowed him to paint full time. Ernst, an artist from 1925, opened a studio in rue Tourlaque.

Ernst invented frottage, a graphic art technique that mimics Surrealist techniques, in 1925, who used object rubbings of objects as a source of photographs. He also invented the 'grattage' method, in which paint is smears of the objects placed under to reveal the objects' imprints. Forest and Dove, his famous painting (as seen at the Tate Modern), used this method. Sergei Diaghilev's next year worked with Joan Miró on Sergei Diaghilev's architecture. Ernst created grattage with Miró's help, in which he trowelled pigment from his canvases. He also experimented with decalcomania, which involves pressing paint between two surfaces. Ernst, as well as fellow Surrealists, was also present at the Atelier 17.

Ernst developed a fascination with birds that was common in his work. Loplop, his alter ego in paintings, was a lizard. This alter-ego, he said, was an extension of himself, born from an early confusion of birds and humans. He said he awakened and found that his beloved bird had died one night, and that his sister was born a few minutes later. Loplop's work was often included in collages of other artists' works, such as Loplop's André Breton. Ernst drew a lot of flak over his 1926 painting The Virgin Chastises the infant Jesus before Three Witnesses: André Breton, Paul Éluard, and the Painter. Ernst married Marie-Berthe Aurenche in 1927, and it is believed his friendship with her may have inspired the erotic theme of The Kiss and other works of the year. Ernst appeared in the 1930 film L'Or d'Or, directed by Surrealist Luis Buuel. Ernst began to sculpt in 1934 and spent time with Alberto Giacometti. Peggy Guggenheim, an American heiress and artistic patron, acquired a few Max Ernst's works in 1938, which she displayed in her new gallery in London. Ernst and Peggy Guggenheim were married from 1942 to 1946.

Ernst and coworker, Hans Bellmer, had recently arrived in Paris, France, in September 1939, during World War II's outbreak, forcing him to be interned in Camp des Milles, near Aix-en-Provence. Leonora Carrington, a Surrealist painter who hadn't known if he'd return, had no choice but to sell their house to pay their debts and leave Spain. He was released a few weeks later thanks to Paul Éluard's intercession and some colleagues, including journalist Varian Fry. He was arrested again by the Gestapo soon after the French revolution, but he managed to flee to America with the help of Peggy Guggenheim, a member of a wealthy American art collection family, and Fry. Ernst and Peggy Guggenheim arrived in the United States in 1941 and were married at the end of the year. Ernst, along with other artists and friends (Marcel Duchamp and Marc Chagall) who had escaped from the war and lived in New York City, inspired Abstract expressionism.

His wedding to Guggenheim did not last and in Beverly Hills, California, in October 1946, he married American Surrealist painter Dorothea Tanning, who lived in Sedona, Arizona, where the high desert landscapes inspired them and recalled Ernst's earlier images. Despite the fact that Sedona was remote and populated by fewer than 400 ranchers, orchard workers, and small Native American families, their presence helped start what would be a Native American colony. Ernst built a small cottage with his own hands on Brewer Road, and Henri Cartier-Bresson and Yves Tanguy hosted intellectuals and European artists on top of the majestic red rocks, including Henri Cartier-Bresson and Yves Tanguy. Sedona inspired artists and composer Ernst, who compiled his book Beyond Painting and completed his sculpture masterpiece Capricorn while living in Sedona. Ernst began to prosper financially as a result of the book's popularity and its media. He lived mainly in France from the 1950s. He received the Grand Prize for painting at the Venice Biennale in 1954. He died in Paris on April 1, 1976, aged 84, and was laid to rest at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

World War II and later life

Ernst, a fellow Surrealist, Hans Bellmer, and fellow Surrealist, Peter Bellmer, were interned in Camp des Milles, near Aix-en-Provence, in September 1939. Leonora Carrington, a Surrealist painter who had no idea if he would return, had no choice but to sell their house to pay their debts and leave for Spain. He was released a few weeks later after thanks to Paul Éluard's intercession and several others, including journalist Varian Fry. He was arrested again by the Gestapo soon after the French civil war, but he managed to flee to America with the help of Peggy Guggenheim, a member of a wealthy American art collection family, and Fry. Ernst and Peggy Guggenheim immigrated to the United States in 1941 and were married at the end of the year. Ernst, along with other artists and friends (Marcel Duchamp and Marc Chagall) who had left the war and lived in New York City, inspired Abstract expressionism.

He married American Surrealist painter Dorothea Tanning in Beverly Hills, California, where the high desert landscapes inspired them and recalled Ernst's earlier photography. Despite the fact that Sedona was remote and populated by fewer than 400 ranchers, orchard workers, shops, and small Native American groups, their presence helped start what would become an American artists' colony. Ernst built a tiny cottage on Brewer Road with his own hands, and he and Tanning hosted intellectuals and European artists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Yves Tanguy. Sedona inspired the artists and Ernst, who compiled his book Beyond Painting and finished his sculpture masterpiece Capricorn while living in Sedona. Ernst began to prosper financially as a result of the book's popularity and exposure. He lived mainly in France from the 1950s to the present. In 1954, he was named Grand Prize for Painting at the Venice Biennale. He died in Paris at the age of 84 on April 1, 1976 and was laid to rest at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

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