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ERNST Max

image Germany
1891 - 1976
13 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 Nocturne
Nocturne
PaintingOil1963
Sold For
$38,100
May 2026MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Nocturne | signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed again and titled 'NOCTURNE max ernst' (on the reverse)| oil on canvas laid down on panel| 4 5⁄8 x 16 ¼ in. (11.9 x 41.4 cm.)| Painted in 1963|
image Another Beautiful Morning
Another Beautiful Morning
UncategorizedOil1953
Sold For
$70,400
February 2026Max Ernst|Another Beautiful Morning|1891 - 1976|signed max ernst (lower right); signed max ernst and titled (on the reverse)|oil on Masonite|13 1⁄8 by 10 1⁄8 in.|33.3 by 25.7 cm.|Executed circa 1953.
image Sans titre
Sans titre
Uncategorized1953
Sold For
€66,040
October 2025Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Sans titre| signé et daté ‘max ernst 53’ (en bas à droite)|gouache, frottage et fusain sur papier|21.2 x 15.2 cm.|Exécuté en 1953| |signed and dated 'max ernst 53' (lower right)|gouache, frottage and charcoal on paper |8 ¼ x 6 in. |Executed in 1953|
image Another beautiful morning
Another beautiful morning
UncategorizedOil1953
Sold For
€88,200
April 2025Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Another beautiful morning| signé 'max ernst' (en bas à droite); signé et inscrit 'another beautiful morning max ernst' (au revers)| huile sur Isorel| 33.3 x 25.7 cm. |Peint vers 1953| |signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed and inscribed 'another beautiful morning max ernst' (on the reverse)|oil on Masonite|13 1⁄8 x 10 1⁄8 in. |Painted circa 1953|
image Coloradeau de Méduse
Coloradeau de Méduse
UncategorizedOil1953
Sold For
£3,065,000
March 2025MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Coloradeau de Méduse | signed and dated ‘max ernst 53’ (lower right); signed, dated and inscribed ‘COLORADEAU DE MÉDUSE max ernst 53 PARIS’ (on the reverse)| oil and décalcomanie on canvas| 28 ¾ x 36 1⁄8 in. (73 x 91.7 cm.)| Painted in 1953|
image Sans titre (L'oiseau qui s'assoit et ne chante pas)
Sans titre (L'oiseau qui s'assoit et ne chante pas)
UncategorizedOil1926
Sold For
$630,000
November 2024MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Sans titre (L'oiseau qui s'assoit et ne chante pas) | signed twice 'max ernst' (lower right)| oil, sand and grattage on canvas| 26 5⁄8 x 21 ¼ in. (68.3 x 54 cm.)| Painted in 1926|
image La Terre est une femme
La Terre est une femme
PaintingOil1963
Sold For
$825,500
May 2023Max Ernst|La Terre est une femme|1891 - 1976|signed Max Ernst and dated 63 (lower right)|oil on canvas|25 ⅝ by 21 ⅛ in. 65.2 by 53.8 cm.|Executed in 1963.
image Paysage
Paysage
Painting1963
Sold For
CHF 38,100
March 2023Max Ernst|Paysage|1891-1976|signed Max Ernest (lower right)|gouache on board|9 x 12 cm (unframed); 26 x 29 cm (framed)|Executed in 1963.|The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Dr. Jürgen Pech.
image Another beautiful morning
Another beautiful morning
PaintingOil1953
Sold For
€0
March 2022Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Another beautiful morning| signé 'max ernst' (en bas à droite); signé et inscrit 'another beautiful morning max ernst' (au revers)| huile sur isorel| 33.2 x 25.6 cm.| Exécuté vers 1953| | signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed and inscribed 'another beautiful morning max ernst' (on the reverse)| oil on masonite| 13 1⁄8 x 10 1⁄8 in.| Executed circa 1953|
image Tête (Soleil)
Tête (Soleil)
Uncategorized1959
Sold For
€40,000
October 2020Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Tête (Soleil)| avec le cachet de la signature, le poinçon d'orfèvre, le poinçon de l'or et numéroté 'max ernst 3/8' (au dos)| médaillon en or| 11 x 10.6 cm.| Conçu en 1959 et exécuté par François Hugo à Aix-en-Provence en 1977 dans une édition de 8 exemplaires numérotée de 1/8 à 8/8| | stamped with signature, stamped with the goldsmith's mark and hallmark and numbered 'max ernst 3/8' (on the back)| gold medallion| 4 ½ x 4 ¼ in.| Conceived in 1959 and executed by François Hugo in Aix-en-Provence in 1977 in an edition of 8 numbered 1/8 to 8/8|
image Migration
Migration
PaintingOil1963
Sold For
£92,500
February 2016Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Migration | signed and dated 'max ernst 63' (lower right)' signed and dated 'max ernst 1963' (on the reverse)| oil on panel| 10 5/8 x 13¾ in. (27.2 x 35 cm.)| Painted in 1963|
image GULFSTREAM
GULFSTREAM
PaintingOil1926
Sold For
£174,500
February 2008Max Ernst (1891-1976) | GULFSTREAM | oil on canvasboard | 55 by 46cm., 21 5/8 by 18 1/8 in. | The present work is part of the La Mer series that Ernst executed around the mid-1920s. During the summer of 1925 Ernst worked by the sea at Pornic in Brittany, and it was probably during this trip that inspired the sea imagery. This was a particularly eventful year for the artist: he signed his first commercial contract, which provided him the financial freedom to devote his time entirely to painting and experimentation; he participated in the first Surrealist group exhibition at the Galerie Pierre, and he developed the frottage technique, one of the most consequential inventions of career. Frottage consisted of placing paper over objects such as leaves or uneven surfaces, particularly those with wood graining, and rubbing the sheet over those forms and textures. This technique resulted in fantastical images that ignited the artist's imagination, and involved the element of chance, the key concept in Surrealist thought. This scraping technique reveals the image rather than painting it onto canvas, resulting in random, chance imagery. In this way, Max Ernst was the first to invent a way of applying automatism, previously practiced by the Surrealists in a literary medium, to painting.Adapting this practice to the medium of oil painting, Ernst would cover the canvas with layers of paint and place it over an uneven surface or an object. He would then scrape the pigment off the surface, and complex patterns would emerge. In the present work, he probably incised the wet oil surface with a comb, creating elegant, undulating lines that evoke the effect of currents and waves on the water surface. Discussing this grattage technique, Werner Spies wrote: 'Max Ernst laid his canvas over various objects with raised textures - pieces of wood and string, grates, textured glass panes - and, drawing the paint over them with a palette knife, brought forth the most vivid effects. In the course of the following years - years which William Rubin has called the 'heroic epoch of Surrealist painting' - this technique, known as grattage, led to astonishingly innovative imagery. The pictures became more abstract in effect, their formats larger. The dramatic force of these paintings, the richness of their scintillating colour, made them high points of imaginative Surrealist art in the late 1920s' (W. Spies, Max Ernst. A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), Tate Gallery, London, 1991, p. 148).
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