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ERNST Max

image Germany
1891 - 1976
15 lots
image ERNST Max

Max Ernst (1891–1976) was a German-born artist and one of the most influential figures in Surrealism and Dada. Born in Brühl, Germany, he studied philosophy and psychology before turning to art, experiences that later shaped his fascination with dreams, the unconscious, and irrational imagery. After serving in World War I, Ernst became a founding member of the Cologne Dada group. In the 1920s, he moved to Paris and joined the Surrealists, developing innovative techniques such as frottage (rubbing textures onto paper), grattage (scraping paint), and decalcomania. These methods allowed chance and subconscious processes to guide his work, producing strange, dreamlike landscapes and hybrid creatures. Ernst’s art often combines precise detail with fantastical elements, challenging traditional perceptions of reality. His recurring motifs include birds, forests, and mysterious figures, reflecting his personal symbolism. With the outbreak of World War II, Ernst emigrated to the United States, where he influenced the emerging Abstract Expressionist movement. He later returned to Europe, settling in France. Over his long career, he worked in painting, sculpture, collage, and printmaking. Today, Max Ernst is celebrated as a pioneer who expanded the boundaries of artistic imagination and experimental technique.

image Paysage immobile
Paysage immobile
UncategorizedOil1957
Sold For
£95,250
March 2026MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Paysage immobile | signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed and inscribed 'paysage immobil max ernst' (on the reverse)| oil, frottage and décalcomanie on panel| 11 ¾ x 11 ¾ in. (30 x 30 cm.)| Painted circa 1957|
image Etamines et marseillaise de Arp
Etamines et marseillaise de Arp
Uncategorized1919
Sold For
$352,800
May 2025MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Etamines et marseillaise de Arp | signed, dated and titled 'max ernst 1919 étamines et marseillaise' (lower edge)| gouache, pen and black ink, pencil and ink stamps on printed paper laid down on card| Sheet size (irregular): 12 x 10 in. (30.5 x 25.5 cm.)|Mount size: 17 1⁄8 x 13 1⁄8 in. (43.5 x 33.5 cm.)| Executed in Cologne in 1919|
image Untitled (Person with two birds)
Untitled (Person with two birds)
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
£264,600
March 2024MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Untitled (Person with two birds) | signed and dated 'max ernst 57' (lower right); signed again ‘max ernst’ (on the reverse)| oil on canvas| 31 ¾ x 25 ½ in. (80.6 x 64.7 cm.)| Painted in 1957|
image A Very Quiet Evening
A Very Quiet Evening
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
€0
March 2022Max Ernst (1891-1976)| A Very Quiet Evening| signé 'max ernst' (en bas à droite); signé et inscrit 'A very quiet evening max ernst' (au revers)| huile et décalcomanie sur toile| 28.1 x 35.8 cm.| Exécuté vers 1957| | signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed and inscribed 'A very quiet evening max ernst' (on the reverse)| oil and decalcomanie on canvas| 11 1⁄8 x 14 1⁄8 in.| Executed circa 1957|
image Tomorrow
Tomorrow
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
€0
March 2022Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Tomorrow| signé 'max ernst' (en bas à droite); signé, daté et inscrit 'tomorrow max ernst 57' (au revers)| huile et grattage sur toile| 35.8 x 28 cm.| Exécuté en 1957| | signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed, dated and inscribed 'tomorrow max ernst 57' (on the reverse)| oil and grattage on canvas| 14 1⁄8 x 11 1⁄8 in.| Executed in 1957|
image Coquillage
Coquillage
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
$75,000
November 2021MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Coquillage | signed ‘max ernst’ (lower right); signed again ‘max ernst’ (on the reverse)| oil on canvas| 7 ½ x 10 5/8 in. (19 x 27 cm.)| Painted circa 1957|
image Mer et soleil
Mer et soleil
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
£35,000
February 2020Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Mer et soleil| signed ‘max ernst’ (lower right)| oil on paper laid down on board| 6 ¾ x 14 ¼ in. (17.2 x 36.3 cm.)| Painted circa 1957|
image Tâches de soleil
Tâches de soleil
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
£175,000
February 2020Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Tâches de soleil| signed and indistinctly dated ‘max ernst 57’ (lower right); signed, inscribed and dated 'taches de soleil 57 max ernst' (on the reverse)| oil on canvas| 18 ¼ x 15 1/8 in. (46.2 x 38.3 cm.)| Painted in 1957|
image Justitia or Metzgerladen
Justitia or Metzgerladen
PaintingOil1919
Sold For
£362,500
February 2015Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Justitia or Metzgerladen | signed 'Max Ernst' (upper right)| oil on canvas| 21 7/8 x 16 3/4 in. (55.7 x 42.6 cm.)| Painted in 1919|
image Moon II
Moon II
PaintingOil1944
Sold For
£338,500
June 2014Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) | Moon II | oil on canvas | 66 by 80cm. | 26 by 31 1/2 in. | Moon II belongs to a series of nocturnal landscapes that Ernst executed in 1944, inspired by his stay in Arizona the previous summer. The fantastic quality and the opulence of colour he witnessed in the mountains and deserts of the American West made a strong impression on the artist, and are beautifully rendered in the present work in a richly layered composition and a kaleidoscopic colouration. Whilst Ernst executed a number of paintings showing the landscape bathed in bright sunshine (fig. 1), it was in his nocturnal pictures, such as Moon II, that he managed to capture the sublime magic of his surroundings. Ernst and Dorothea Tanning spent the summer of 1943 in Arizona, and Werner Spies described the ranch where they stayed as 'a marvellous spot on the bank of a creek that, fed by the glaciers of the San Francisco Mountains, came rushing down through a canyon (a kind of replica of the Grand Canyon on a human scale) to lose itself in the burning deserts to the south. The first fascinating thing about the place was its abundance of colour [...]. Then there were the rock formations, which resembled a great variety of things' (W. Spies, Max Ernst, A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), Tate Gallery, London, 1991, p. 323). Discussing Ernst's works inspired by these surroundings, John Russell wrote: 'Arizona offered isolation, a celestial climate, a way of life that was both economical and free from suburban constraints. It offered the inspiration of supreme, natural beauty [...] Few things are more stirring than the fantastic forms and the irrational colouring of the mountains around Sedona. In the mid-1940s life and landscape in that region had an uncorrupted quality which made of Arizona a Promised Land in which a new life could be begun and an old one discarded [...] and although Max Ernst had never been a landscape painter, in the ordinary sense, it was deeply moving for him to come upon a landscape which had precisely the visionary quality that he had sought for on canvas' (J. Russell, Max Ernst: Life and Work, New York, 1967, p. 140).
image
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
£109,250
February 2010Max Ernst (1891-1976) Regarde signed ´max ernst´ (lower right); signed again, dated and titled ´regarde max ernst 1957´ (on the reverse) oil on board 13 x 9½ in. (33 x 24 cm.) Painted in 1957
image
PaintingOil1957
Sold For
£109,250
February 2010Max Ernst (1891-1976) Regarde signed ´max ernst´ (lower right); signed again, dated and titled ´regarde max ernst 1957´ (on the reverse) oil on board 13 x 9½ in. (33 x 24 cm.) Painted in 1957
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