The present Homage to Max Ernst (Study) is an early example of Roy Lichtenstein’s forays into Surrealism. The work was commissioned for the print portfolio titled Bonjour Max Ernst (1975), which featured works by 24 artists. each paying tribute to the German Dadaist and Surrealist. Other artists in the portfolio included Man Ray, Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Dorothea Tanning and Niki de Sain-Phalle.

The late 1970s marked a period of transition for Lichtenstein, as he moved away from his earlier comic-inspired imagery toward a deeper engagement with art history and stylistic conventions, producing a significant body of Surrealist-inspired works. Executed in 1975, the present work is an early example from this Surrealist phase, combining Lichtenstein’s signature formal characteristics with stylistic references to Ernst. In particular, the present work bears a striking resemblance to The Kiss from 1927, housed in the Peggy Guggenheim collection. Significantly, The Kiss itself also alludes to Ernst's forebearers, specifically to Renaissance compositions of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Leonardo da Vinci (1503–19).

By the 1940s, when Lichtenstein attended art school at Ohio State University, Surrealism had gained significant acclaim in the United States, with major exhibitions and surveys taking place across the country. Prominent figures such as Peggy Guggenheim championed European Surrealism, while institutional shows like Abstract and Surrealist Art in America helped cement the movement's popularity among American audiences and artists. Indeed, Lichtenstein’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the late 1940s and early 1950s often contain Surrealist elements, populated by biomorphic plants and dreamlike, nocturnal creatures. As a pioneer of the Dada movement and an influential figure within Surrealism, Ernst would have been well known to Lichtenstein during this formative period.

In the present composition, a curvilinear form spirals inward, evoking a nautilus shell. Superimposed on this central shape is a heart-like form with two atria, flanked by hand-like appendages seemingly grasping a circular object. This ambiguous biological motif is further complicated by fragmented forms and layered colors and patterns, echoing Ernst’s Cubist compositions and Surrealist subjects. In the lower right corner, an Ionic Greek column emerges - a recurring motif throughout Lichtenstein’s oeuvre. Classical Greek art and architecture served as rich symbolic and visual sources, allowing Lichtenstein to explore the interplay between antiquity and modernity, tradition and innovation, and to invoke Classical “high” art within the context of modernist abstraction. This juxtaposition mirrors Ernst’s own fusion of disparate visual languages.

The faux-wood pattern in the centre of the composition also nods to Ernst’s frottage technique, in which he would place paper over various textured surfaces such as woodboards, wire mesh or crumpled paper, and then rub over it with a pencil or crayon. By meticulously rendering the wood pattern in this present work, Lichtenstein offers a playful subversion of Ernst’s embrace of chance and automatism. Indeed, whilst Ernst delved into the irrational and the subconscious through techniques like frottage and collage, Lichtenstein's work is strictly pre-meditated and characterized by calculated precision and a focus on the mechanical reproduction of images.

Lichtenstein’s interest in art historical motifs resulted in many works that reference Cubism, Futurism, Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism. During the mid-to-late 1970s, he frequently drew upon Surrealist imagery, featuring archetypal Surrealist tropes such as dreamlike landscapes with Lichtenstein’s distinctive style, weaving himself into the art historical canon. By engaging with the motifs and aesthetics of past movements, Lichtenstein not only paid homage to his predecessors but also challenged viewers to re-examine the history of art through a new lens.