Art Collections Online
The Wood
ERNST, Max (1891 - 1976)
© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2002
Date: 1927
Media: oil on canvas
Size: 60.5 x 81.5 cm
Acquired: 1991; Gift; Miss A. F. Brown through the Contemporary Art Society
Accession Number: NMW A 503
Ernst was haunted by the atmosphere of forests and by the birds which inhabit them. Here, the herring-bone effect of the trees and the grainy sky reveal his technique of grattage. Layers of paint were applied to the canvas, which was pressed against a sheet of stamped metal and a rough plank and scraped. Born near Cologne, Ernst studied philosophy before becoming a leading Surrealist in Paris. This work was given to the Contemporary Art Society by Miss A.F. Brown in 1940.
Comments - (5)
This work will be included in the new Gallery 14 show at National Museum Cardiff that opens tomorrow (20 December 2014).