Artwork from the JSP Estate/Private Collection
Nationality
German
Artist Dates
1891-1976
Preview
Date of Work
1939
Medium
Lithograph
Signature
Signed in stone
Height
12 1/2"
Width
9 1/2"
Collection/Provenance
Art & Design Study Collection: James Smith Pierce Collection
Status
On Display
Location
Columbia Hall, Room 1930
Artist Bio
Max Ernst was a German sculptor, graphic artist, painter, and poet primarily involved in the Dada movement and Surrealism. Ernst had no formal artistic training but has gone on to invent the artistic techniques of ‘frottage’ and ‘grattage’.
In 1939, at the outbreak of the war, Ernst was interred in Camp des Milles as an ‘undesirable foreigner’ for several weeks before being released. Ernst then fled to the United States for the remainder of the war and later returned to France.
Additional Information
Max Ernst was so fascinated with the new rise in psychology and psychoanalysis procedures created by Sigmund Freud at the time, that he decided to use Freudian dream theories on himself to discover the root of his own creativity. By tapping into his unconscious he was able to delve even further into the Surrealism movement. The title "Elektra" is Ernst's personal depiction from Freud's Electra Complex, or a facet of a psychosexual relational competition between a young girl and her mother for the love of her father.
Created for XXe Siecle (No. 5-6)
Work included in 'School of Paris' exhibition, 2019.
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
Tape hinges verso
Rights
Images are provided for educational purposes only and may not be reproduced for commercial use. Images may be protected by artist copyright. A credit line is required to be used for any public non-commercial educational purpose. The credit line must include, “Image courtesy of the University of North Dakota.”