Max Ernst

signed Max Ernst (lower right)
pencil with white heightening on paper
43 by 26cm.
Executed in 1925.

Private Collection, Paris
Galerie Brusberg, Berlin & Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne (acquired by 1990)
Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Cologne (acquired by 1991)
Galerie Brusberg, Berlin & Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne (acquired by 1994)
Private Collection, Germany (and sold: Sotheby’s, London, June 27, 2001, lot 163)
Acquired at the above sale

Berlin, Galerie Brusberg & Cologne, Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Hommage an Max Ernst, Les Labyrinths ne sont pas faits pour les chiens, 1990, no. 16, illustrated in color in the catalogue 
Cologne, Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Max Ernst. Bilder—Zeichnungen—Collagen, 1990, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue 
Cologne, Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Max Ernst "Jenseits der Malerei." Arbeiten auf Papier, 1991, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue 
Hanover, Sprengel Museum; Karlsruhe, Badischer Kunstverein & Salzburg, Rupertinum, Die Erfindung der Natur. Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Wols und das surreale Universum, 1994, no. 64, illustrated in the catalogue 

Executed on cream colored wove paper laid down on card, which is in turn hinged to a mount at two places at top edge on verso. Top, right and bottom edges are cut. Left edge is deckled. Framer notations along bottom edge and top edge of the card, not visible when framed. Tape from a prior mounting visible on the back of the card. A few pindots of minor staining visible at extreme upper right edge of the sheet, likely related to the mounting of the sheet. Very faint, old mat stain at extreme top edge. Sheet may be slightly dirty, otherwise fine. Work is in good 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In 1925, the year the following two works were executed, Ernst invented his ground-breaking technique of frottage, which consisted of placing the paper on a relief surface and rubbing it with a pencil or charcoal, and adding a few strokes in gouache or watercolor. Ernst described frottage as "the technical means of augmenting the hallucinatory capacity of the mind so that 'visions' could occur automatically, a means of doffing one’s blindness" (quoted in William A. Camfield, Max Ernst, Dada and the Dawn of Surrealism, Munich, 1993, p. 157).

Both the present work and the following lot belong to a group of early frottage drawings which were included in the portfolio Histoire naturelle, and can be classified into groups such as plant-related, animal-related, cosmic and anthropomorphic. Executed a year after the publication of André Breton’s "First Manifesto of Surrealism," these works literally fulfilled Breton’s dictum, contained within the Manifesto: "It is not a matter of drawing, but simply tracing."