Max Ernst

Galerie Alexandre Iolas, Paris
Acquired from the above

London, Hanover Gallery, Max Ernst, early and recent paintings and sculpture, 1965, no. 2
New York, The Jewish Museum, Sculpture and recent painting, 1966, no. 18
Venice, Palazzo Grassi, Max Ernst, Oltre la pittura, 1966, no. 22
Barcelona, Galeria René Metras, Max Ernst, 1968, no. 12
Bologna, Galleria Foscherari, Max Ernst, 1970, no. 24

James Burr, 'Horror and Harmony' in Apollo, no. 82, 1965, no. 41, illustrated p. 63
Werner Spies, Max Ernst Oeuvre-Katalog, Werke 1954-1963, Cologne, 1998, no. 3543, illustrated p. 255

The panel is sound, with scratches and inherent irregularities due to the grattage technique. There is no evidence of retouching under UV light. This work is in very good original condition.
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The fantastic quality and the opulence of colour Ernst witnessed in the mountains and deserts of the American West during the 1940s and early 1950s made a strong impression on him, and he continued to incorporate the aesthetic of desert moonrises and sunsets in the compositions completed after he returned to France. The works that he completed during these years evidence the artist's renewed optimism triggered by Europe's post-war recovery, and the present work can be interpreted in this spirit.

In this richly colourful composition, Ernst employs the technique of grattage that he had created during the early days of the Surrealist movement. This process is most evident near the sharp edges delineating where the palette knife had smoothed and scraped the wet paint, sometimes revealing a darker colour beneath the top layer of pigment. As is the case for the present work, Ernst's paintings of the post-war era exhibited a stylistic duality of composition and disintegration - a suitable metaphor for the times.