Max Ernst: Dada and the Dawn of Surrealism

by William A. Camfield, Max Ernst, Werner Spies

Max Ernst (1891-1976), whose first radical achievements date from the time of the First World War, stands as one of the greatest innovative pioneers of this century’s art. This exhibition surveys Ernst’s major early accomplishments. Between 1912 and 1927, Ernest successively participated in the Expressionist, Dada, and Surrealist movements. During these fifteen years, he devised crucial innovations in technique, approaches to imagery, and themes, which were to inform his art throughout his entire career. The exhibition emphasizes Ernst’s participation from 1919 to 1924 in Dada.

Genres: Art

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1993

Reviews

[Dylan Kiewel · Rating 3 out of 5]

appreciated the art history parts of this (less so the art analysis, which i tended to skip over) how dadamax develops, how he reacts to other artists, how dada develops and fractures comes back together and dissolves into / morphs into surrealism, all the dumb but fun to hear about squabbling among these highly dramatic fellas . if only, if only ! art now was cared about to even a fraction of the degree it was then. dada was about taking the seriousness out of art , taking the art out of art at times, eliminating preconception and logic in some cases , and reconsidering its place and value in light of ww1 , in light of photography and technological development, the development of psychoanalysis (never knew freud was so huge with these guys), political upheaval , and its all pretty interesting to read play out . good for artists looking to study ernst's works obviously, for a dada history it rounds out mine a bit but for a more concise , more insider's look go to hans richter's.