- 49
Max Ernst
Description
- Max Ernst
- FACILITÉ
- signed Max Ernst (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 65 by 54cm.
- 25 5/8 by 21 1/4 in.
Provenance
Galerie André François Petit, Paris
Galerie Beno d'Incelli, Paris
Private Collection, USA (acquired from the above in 1963. Sold: Sotheby's, Paris, 13th December 2007, lot 34)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Brühl, Max Ernst Museum, 2008 (on loan )
Stockholm, Moderna Museet & Humlebæk, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Max Ernst. Dream and Revolution, 2008-09, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Literature
Condition
"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."
Catalogue Note
Ernst produced some of his most haunting and powerful works during this period, many of which have become key emblems of displacement and psychological doubt in the art of the twentieth century. According to Waldman, in these paintings there is ‘more contact with the real world than in the earlier collages, although this contact is irrational and enigmatic’ (ibid., p. 32). Many of his paintings of this period treat the subject of a nude female figure, either alone or in a mysterious coupling with her male counterpart. In the present work the male and the female seem to be entranced in a ritual of dance, inhabiting a dream-like world reminiscent of the ocean floor.
The first owner of Facilité was Joë Bousquet (1897-1950), an important collector of Surrealist art who was particularly fascinated by Max Ernst and owned a large number of his paintings, as well as works by Salvador Dalí, André Masson and Hans Bellmer. Bousquet, a French poet, was wounded during the First World War and remained paralysed for the rest of his life. He carried on a correspondence with many writers and friends, including Ernst, Louis Aragon, André Gide and Paul Eluard. This particular work hung above his bed in Carcassonne (fig. 1).