Max Ernst

Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
Pierre Schlumberger (acquired from the above in March 1961; sale: Christies, New York, 10th May 2007, lot 342)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner


The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Werner Spies.

The panel is sound. There is a layer of varnish through which the UV light cannot fully penetrate. There are lines of inpainting, primarily in the sky, addressing scattered lines of paint shrinkage caused by the natural drying process of the artist's pigments. This work is in fairly good condition. Colours: The colours are fairly accurate as they appear in the printed catalogue, although the sun is more of a deep yellow.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

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.