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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 Le monde est une fable (Le temps est un songe)
Le monde est une fable (Le temps est un songe)
PaintingOil1960
Sold For
$254,000
May 2026MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Le monde est une fable (Le temps est un songe) | signed 'max ernst' (lower right); signed again, titled and dedicated 'Le monde est une fable à Raymond Loewy. max ernst' (on the reverse)| oil on canvas| 25 3⁄8 x 21 ¼ in. (64.5 x 54 cm.)| Painted in 1960|
image Paysage jaune
Paysage jaune
PaintingOil1960
Sold For
€96,000
April 2026Max Ernst|Paysage jaune|Property from a Prestigious European Collection|1891-1976|signed max ernst (lower right)|oil on panel|24,1 x 33,2 cm; 9½ x 13⅛ in.|Executed circa 1960.
image Simplicity
Simplicity
UncategorizedOil1960
Sold For
€330,200
October 2025Max Ernst (1891-1976)| Simplicity| signé et daté 'max ernst 60' (en bas à droite); signé, daté et inscrit 'Simplicity max ernst 1960' (au revers)|huile et grattage sur toile|116 x 89.2 cm.|Peint à Huismes en 1960| |signed and dated 'max ernst 60' (lower right); signed, dated and inscribed 'Simplicity max ernst 1960' (on the reverse)|oil and grattage on canvas|45 5⁄8 x 35 1⁄8 in.|Painted in Huismes in 1960|
image Le soleil sur terre
Le soleil sur terre
UncategorizedOil1960
Sold For
£76,200
October 2025MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Le soleil sur terre | signed 'max ernst' (lower right)| oil and décalcomanie on paper| 9 7⁄8 x 7 1⁄8 in. (25 x 18 cm.)| Painted in 1960|
image Paysage
Paysage
UncategorizedOil1952
Sold For
$52,920
May 2024MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Paysage | signed 'max ernst' (lower right)| oil and decalcomania on panel| 5 3/8 x 3 3/8 in. (13.8 x 8.6 cm.)| Painted circa 1952|
image Landscape with Double Portrait
Landscape with Double Portrait
PaintingOil1952
Sold For
$201,600
May 2024MAX ERNST (1891-1976)| Landscape with Double Portrait | signed ‘max ernst’ (lower right)| oil on canvas| 8 ¾ x 9 7/8 in. (22.2 x 25 cm.)| Painted circa 1952|
image Der abwaschbare Priesterkragen
Der abwaschbare Priesterkragen
Uncategorized1960
Sold For
€1,280
March 2024MAX ERNST (1891-1976) | Der abwaschbare Priesterkragen | |signé dans la planche 'Max Ernst' (en bas à droite) ; dédicacé à Man Ray 'To Man from Max' (au revers)|Offset en noir réhaussé au crayon gras de couleur sur vélin et réalisé d'après le collage intitulé « le col du prêtre »|Exécuté circa 1960|signed in the plate 'Max Ernst' (lower right) ; dedicated to Man Ray 'To Man from Max' (on reverse)|Offset in black with coloured oily stick highlights on vellum, based on the collage entitled « le col du prêtre »|Executed circa 1960|15 x 12.3 cm. |5 7/8 x 4 13/16 in.
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 Soudain II
Soudain II
PaintingOil1960
Sold For
€147,000
June 2015Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) | Soudain II | oil on panel | 24.2 x 33.3 cm ; 9 1/2 x 13 1/8 in. | The fantastic quality and the opulence of colour Ernst witnessed in the mountains and deserts of the American West during the 1940s and early 1950s made a strong impression on him, and he continued to incorporate the aesthetic of desert moonrises and sunsets in the compositions completed after he returned to France. The works that he completed during these years evidence the artist's renewed optimism triggered by Europe's post-war recovery, and the present work can be interpreted in this spirit. In this richly colourful composition, Ernst employs the technique of grattage that he had created during the early days of the Surrealist movement. This process is most evident near the sharp edges delineating where the palette knife had smoothed and scraped the wet paint, sometimes revealing a darker colour beneath the top layer of pigment. As is the case for the present work, Ernst's paintings of the post-war era exhibited a stylistic duality of composition and disintegration - a suitable metaphor for the times.
image
PaintingOil1960
Sold For
£52,500
February 2014Max Ernst (1891-1976) Le soleil sur terre signed ´max ernst´ (lower right) oil on paper 10½ x 8½ in. (27 x 22 cm.) Painted in 1960
image Composition, lune et soleil
Composition, lune et soleil
PaintingOil1960
Sold For
£97,250
February 2011Max Ernst (1891 - 1976) | Composition, lune et soleil | oil on panel | 35.3 by 26.7cm., 13 7/8 by 10 1/2 in. | By 1960 Max Ernst was at the height of his artistic powers. Throughout his career Ernst's creative passion continously drove him to explore new forms of expression. In the late 1910s and early 1920s, he immersed himself in the founding of the Dada protest movement, and later in the decade was at the core of Surrealism. He continued his free exploration into new techniques such as frottage and grattage while living in America during World War II, powerfully influencing the post-war American Abstract Expressionist artists in New York. Ernst returned to Paris in the early 1950s with his spirit of optimism renewed by Europe's post-war recovery. Composition, lune et soleil was executed in this spirit and at a time when Ernst's earlier themes intersected with his incredibly modern and post-modern, artistic sensibility. Astronomy was a central focus for Ernst during this period. He was magnetically drawn to the romanticism of the unknown, a notion that had sparked much of his artistic exploration. In 1964 Ernst would publish Maximiliana au l'Exercice illégal de l'astronomie - a series of illustrations in hommage to the great nineteenth-century astronomer, Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel. Werner Spies writing about the parallels between Ernst biography and the artist's own life described how 'in the spirals and mists of Tempel's nebulae, he discerned the romantic worldview expressed in Breton's term "explosante-fixe." In his hommage to Tempel, Ernst drew together and united threads of Dada protest and the Surrealist's triumph over violence' (Nightmare and Deliverence, Max Ernst: a Retrospective, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005, p. 18). The present work provides a stunning demonstration of the astronomical concepts that captivated Max Ernst during these years.
image
PaintingOil1952
Sold For
£67,250
June 2009MAX ERNST 1891 - 1976 SUN AND BIRD IN SPACE Painted in 1952. oil on board
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