Max Ernst and the Birth of Surrealism

The mood of these works is set apart from everything else that dominated the studios of the day – cubism, futurism, expressionism or neoclassicism. Instead of a ‘retour à l’ordre’ reaction to war experiences, Ernst’s collages go in the opposite direction: dismemberment, cutting, erasure, painting over. In his book, Werner Spies examines these singular works meticulously and shows up their context. Next to his own memories and observations as a close friend of Max Ernst, Spies also consults letters, photos and other works from the artist’s oeuvre. Beyond, he draws on important sources from literary and artistic history, including references to Beckett, Kafka, Joyce, Freud, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Proust, Eluard, Buñuel, Picasso and Duchamp. Spies offers us a fascinating insight into a decisive time of change and reorientation, which would result in the new, great art form of surrealism.