Max Ernst

Walter Schwarzenberg (Galerie Le Centaure), Brussels (sold: Galerie Giroux, Brussels, Vente Schwarzenberg, 1st-2nd February 1932, lot 276)
Roland, Browse & Delbanco, London
Alfred Hecht, London (acquired by 1961)
A bequest from the above to the present owner in 1991

London, Tate Gallery, Max Ernst, 1961, no. 69, illustrated in the catalogue
Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland, Dean Gallery, Surrealist Works, 2004

Werner Spies, Max Ernst, Œuvre-Katalog, Werke 1925-1929, Cologne, 1976, no. 1180, illustrated p. 201

The canvas is unlined and there is no evidence of retouching under ultra-violet light. There is some paint shrinkage in the areas of thicker impasto, inherent to the artist's creative process. Apart from a very light surface abrasion in the lower right corner, and some spots of faint rubbing along the left edge, from the previous frame, this work is in very good condition. Colours: In comparison to the printed catalogue illustration, the colours are overall much fresher in the original. In particularl, the green and yellow tones of the forest are much stronger and more pronounced in the original, and not as dark as they appear in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

Painted in 1927, Forêt et soleil belongs to one of the most creative and groundbreaking periods in Max Ernst's œuvre, marked by a constant stream of technical experimentation and invention. It was at this time that the artist established his personal mythology, his visual universe of themes and images that were to become central to his entire career. Throughout 1927, Ernst's work was dominated by images of the natural world, such as forests, birds and seashells, and it was in the series of Forêt paintings of the 1920s that Ernst for the first time fully explored his newly developed grattage technique. His experimentations with ways of applying pigment onto the surface resulted in the discovery of frottage in 1925. Fascinated by the rich texture of wooden floorboards, he would place sheets of paper onto their surface and rub over them with graphite, thus arriving at fantastic, unexpected compositions. In the present work the glowing colours of the setting sun penetrate powerfully through the dense forest.

 

Adapting this practice to the medium of oil painting, Ernst would cover the canvas with layers of paint and place it over an uneven surface or an object. He would then scrape the pigment off the surface, and complex patterns would emerge. Discussing this grattage technique, Werner Spies wrote: 'Max Ernst laid his canvas over various objects with raised textures – pieces of wood and string, grates, textured glass panes – and, drawing the paint over them with a palette knife, brought forth the most vivid effects. In the course of the following years – years which William Rubin has called the 'heroic epoch of Surrealist painting' – this technique, known as grattage, led to astonishingly innovative imagery. The pictures became more abstract in effect, their formats larger. The dramatic force of these paintings, the richness of their scintillating colour, made them high points of imaginative Surrealist art in the late 1920s' (W. Spies, Max Ernst. A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), Tate Gallery, London, 1991, p. 148).