Max Ernst

Executed in 1957. 

Alexander Iolas Gallery, New York
Alex Lantiez, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

London, Hanover Gallery, Max Ernst, Early and Recent Paintings and Sculpture, 7-15 August 1965, cat. no.24, illustrated
Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Dada and Surrealism in Chicago Collections, 1985

Werner Spies, Max Ernst: Oeuvre-Katalog, Werke 1954-1963, Köln, 1998, p.104, cat. no. 3246, illustrated 

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of very light craquelure across the surface of the work and handling wear at the top left corner and along the top right edge, consistent with the age of the work. Under UV light, there is no evidence of restoration.
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Max Ernst’s most famous paintings are characterized by the artist’s depictions of fantastical worlds and dream-like imagery of imagined beasts and animals. A pioneer of both the Dada and Surrealist movements, Ernst’s artistic vision was highly influenced by his traumatic experience as a soldier in Germany during World War I. Highly critical of Western culture and viewing the modern world as irrational, the artist devoted his artistic practice to the exploration of the unconscious and a critique of social conventions.

The present work, through its title, references the artist’s autobiography titled Biographical Notes, also known as Tissue of Truth, Tissue of Lies. In the book, Ernst writes about his experiences in third person, a technique inspired by Freud's revealing of one's own self by understanding the unconscious. In addition, throughout Ernst's œuvre, the image of the bird theme recurs from time to time in various guises as Hornebom, Dadamax or Loplop, in all instances presenting the alter ego of the artist and becoming part of Ernst’s personal mythology. In this work, one bird and one fox are depicted against a colourful but confined cage. The bird can be seen as a symbol of freedom, human potential and flights of fancy on one side, and a symbol of entrapment and a victim on the other. The fox, often associated with a trickster, is an ultimately predatory and devouring force. The two mysterious animals emerge from the alienating environment seem trapped in their own fate. Utilizing a flattened pictorial style that recalls a kaleidoscopic vision, Ernst has created a fragmented reality that perhaps reflected post-war sentiments throughout Europe. Through years of creative practice in his painting skills, Ernst has arrived at a point where he can allow the forms of his subjects to grow more or less where they like and to define themselves.