
Untitled Etching, Surrealist Style, Signed, Edition of 100, 1970
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Hand signed and numbered. Edition of 100 prints, numbered and hand signed. Excellent condition.
1970s Surrealist Abstract Prints
Etching
1971
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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Max Ernst's Zodiaque Etching, Surrealist, Signed, 1971, Edition of 100
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
" Zodiaque " is an etching realized by Max Ernst in 1971. This print is hand signed and numbered. This is an edition of 100 prints. Reference: Catalogue Spies n. 144. Originally a ...
Etching

Scarabée Etching by Max Ernst, Surrealist, Signed, Edition 35/79, 1973
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Lithograph on Japan paper, realized in 1973. Image dimension 20.8x14.2 / Shee dimension 31.5x23.4 cm. Edition of 79. Hand signed and numbered 35/79. Color variant of the suppleme...
Etching

Hölderlin: Poèmes Etching, Surrealist Style, Signed, 1961, Unframed
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
" Hölderlin: Poèmes " is a hand-signed etching realized by Max Ernst in 1961. It presents very good conditions. Passepartout included: 49 x 34 cm. Bibliography: Catalog Brusberg n....
Etching

Masque Etching by Max Ernst, Surrealist, Signed, Edition 33/100, 1950
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Color etching on vellum. Image dimension 18x13 cm. Edition of 33/100. Hand signed in pencil. Light-stained, browned, with pinholes in two corners. Very rare.
Etching
Wunderhorn Lithograph, Surrealist Style, Signed 68/69, 1970s
By Max Ernst
Located in Roma, IT
Wunderhorn is an artwork realized by Max Ernst, Lewis Carrolls,1970. Lithograph on Japon Paper, igned and numbered 68/69. Printed and published by Manues Press (Embossing Stamp). ...
Lithograph
Surrealist Composition - Original Lithograph (Leppien/Spies #202B), 1971
By Max Ernst
Located in Paris, IDF
Max ERNST Surrealist Composition : Après-moi le XX° siècle, 1971 Original lithograph in colours Unsigned On wove paper 31 x 24 cm (c. 12,2 x 9,4 inches) REFERENCES : Catalogue rais...
Lithograph

Max Ernst - Composition - Original Lithograph
By Max Ernst
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Max Ernst - Composition - Original Lithograph 1958 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm XXe siècle Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued Max Ernst was born in Bruhl, a place near Cologne, in Germany. He was raised in a strict Catholic family, and both of his parents were disciplinarians who were dedicated to training their children into God-fearing and talented individuals. Although his father was deaf, Ernst learned so much from him, particularly when it comes to painting. In fact, much of his early years were lived under the inspiration of his father who was also a teacher. He was the one who introduced painting to Ernst at an early age. In 1914, Ernst attended the University of Bonn where he studied philosophy. However, he eventually dropped out of school because he was more interested in the arts. He claimed that his primary sources of interest included anything that had something to do with painting. Moreover, he became fascinated with psychology, among other subjects in school. Primarily, Ernst's love for painting was the main reason why he became deeply interested with this craft and decided to pursue it later on in his life. During his early years, he became familiar with the works of some of the greatest artists of all time including Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh. He was also drawn to themes such as fantasy and dream imagery, which were among the common subjects of the works of Giorgio de Chirico. During World War I, Ernst was forced to join the German Army, and he became a part of the artillery division that exposed him greatly to the drama of warfare. A soldier in the War, Ernst emerged deeply traumatized and highly critical of western culture. These charged sentiments directly fed into his vision of the modern world as irrational, an idea that became the basis of his artwork. Ernst's artistic vision, along with his humor and verve come through strongly in his Dada and Surrealists works; Ernst was a pioneer of both movements. It was Ernst's memories of the war and his childhood that helps him create absurd, yet interesting scenes in his artworks. Soon, he took his passion for the arts seriously when he returned to Germany after the war. With Jean Arp, a poet and artist, Ernst formed a group for artists in Cologne. He also developed a close relationship with fellow artists in Paris who propagated Avant-Garde artworks. In 1919, Ernst started creating some of his first collages, where he made use of various materials including illustrated catalogs and some manuals that produced a somewhat futuristic image. His unique masterpieces allowed Ernst to create his very own world of dreams and fantasy, which eventually helped heal his personal issues and trauma. In addition to painting and creating collages, Ernst also edited some journals. He also made a few sculptures that were rather queer in appearance. In 1920s, influenced by the writings of psychologist Sigmund Freud, the literary, intellectual, and artistic movement called Surrealism sought a revolution against the constraints of the rational mind; and by extension, they saw the rules of a society as oppressive. Surrealism also embraces a Marxist ideology that demands an orthodox approach to history as a product of the material interaction of collective interests, and many renown Surrealism artists later on became 20th century Counterculture symbols such as Marxist Che Guevara. In 1922 Ernst moved to Paris, where the surrealists were gathering around Andre Breton. In 1923 Ernst finished Men Shall Know Nothing of This, known as the first Surrealist painting. Ernst was one of the first artists who apply The Interpretation of Dreams by Freud to investigate his deep psyche in order to explore the source of his own creativity. While turning inwards unto himself, Ernst was also tapping into the universal unconscious with its common dream imagery. Despite his strange styles, Ernst gained quite a reputation that earned him some followers throughout his life. He even helped shape the trend of American art during the mid-century, thanks to his brilliant and extraordinary ideas that were unlike those of other artists during his time. Ernst also became friends with Peggy Guggenheim, which inspired him to develop close ties with the abstract expressionists. When Ernst lived in Sedona, he became deeply fascinated with the Southwest Native American navajo art. In fact, the technique used in this artwork inspired him and paved the way for him to create paintings that depicted this style. Thus, Ernst became a main figure of this art technique, including the rituals and spiritual traditions included in this form of art. Pollock, aside from the other younger generations of abstract expressionists, was also inspired by sand painting of the Southwest...
Lithograph

"Un chant d'amour" original lithograph
By Max Ernst
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original lithograph. Catalogue reference Spies/Leppien 71. Printed in 1958 for the art revue XXe Siecle (issue number 11) and published in Paris by San Lazzaro. Sheet size: 1...
Lithograph

Lithographie originale pour XXe Siecle, No. 20
By Max Ernst
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Lithographie originale pour XXe Siecle, No. 20 Color lithograph, 1962 Unsigned (as issued) From: XXe Siecle, No. 20, Christmas Publisher: G. di San Lazzaro, Paris. Printer: Mourlot? Large edition: c. 1500? Condition: Excellent/Mint usual glue on reverse from binding in book Image/Sheet size: 12 3/16 x 9 1/2 inches New series of XXe Siecle Back in Paris in 1949, Gualtieri di San Lazzaro resumed 20TH century publishing in 1951. It hosts many of the most important writers and art critics of the 1950s and 1960s, including Alain Bosquet , Genevieve Bonnefoi, Camille Bourniquel , Georges Borgeaud, Marcel Brion , Georges Boudaille, Jacques Brosse , Michel Butor , Jean Cassou , Denys Chevalier, Pierre Courthion, Hubert Damisch , Pierre Descargues, Bernard Dorival , Jacques Dupin , Mircea Eliade , Jean-Louis Ferrier , Pierre Francastel , André Frenaud , Roger Van Gindertael...
Lithograph